The Paris Bookseller

On hearing about Sylvia’s plans to publish Ulysses, Gertrude Stein withdraws her membership from Shakespeare and Company. Sylvia begins gathering Joyce’s handwritten pages to type for the printer, which proves to be an intensive and frustrating task. Sylvia laments that “some of the very things [she] love[s] about this book [will] be the things that will drive [her] to insanity” (113). The publication monopolizes all of Sylvia’s energy until Cyprian returns to Paris and agrees to help. However, Cyprian quickly reconsiders when Joyce’s scribbles prove too difficult to decipher. Another female friend, a local doctor, steps in to help instead. When spring arrives, a new American visitor comes to Paris: Ernest Hemingway. He and Sylvia instantly become friends. When Adrienne arrives, she and Sylvia discuss how to have more fun experiences.

One of Sylvia’s typists arrives in tears, saying that she accidentally left some pages out, and her husband threw them in a fire. When Sylvia tells Joyce the bad news, he reveals that John Quinn has a copy of all the scenes that have been written so far. She writes to Quinn and asks to borrow the missing scene. While they wait, she has the first section printed. Sylvia and Joyce sit outside and try to pick out Joyce’s characters from the crowd. They also discuss preorders for Ulysses; Sylvia is hoping that George Bernard Shaw will buy a copy, but Joyce doesn’t expect it. They make a friendly wager on the outcome, in which the prize will be a free lunch. Soon afterward, Joyce returns with numerous corrections to the printed pages.

Sylvia and Adrienne join Ernest and his wife, Hadley, at a boxing match; Sylvia finds herself fascinated by the spectacle. Soon, Ernest and Ezra begin boxing together, and they both attend Gertrude’s salons, from which Sylvia herself has been ostracized. However, Sylvia continues to hear all the gossip about these events.

John Quinn replies to say that his draft of Ulysses is too valuable to send to France for publication purposes. Sylvia learns that there is an open shopfront across from Adrienne’s bookshop, so she makes plans to move in. Joyce’s children, Lucia and Giorgio, arrive to tell Sylvia that their father’s health is failing. While she goes to see Joyce, she hires an assistant named Mysrine to watch over her shop. At Joyce’s house, Sylvia finds Joyce in bed because his eyes are deteriorating. She takes him to her oculist friend, Dr. Borsch. Later, when Sylvia tells Adrienne about her day, Adrienne again voices her distrust of Joyce.

Quinn contacts Sylvia to say that he will soon visit Paris and will bring the missing scene. Margaret, one of the editors of The Little Review, also writes to caution Sylvia against Quinn, declaring that he is highly conservative and prone to anti-gay bias. Joyce continues seeing Dr. Borsch, and Sylvia becomes overwhelmed with her many responsibilities. Quinn arrives in Paris and inspects Sylvia’s shop, voicing his disdain for the old location and his hope for the new one. He encourages Sylvia to keep a “firm hand” (147) on Joyce. Meanwhile, Sylvia continues to struggle with money, and Joyce wins their bet on Shaw, who disdains Joyce’s work.

Shakespeare and Company officially opens in its new location with a grand opening party. Sylvia watches the romantic intrigues playing out around her and feels grateful for her steady relationship with Adrienne. Adrienne christens the new shop “Odeonia,” while Joyce names it “Stratford-on-Odéon.” Sylvia embraces both names. As Parisians go on holiday for the summer, Sylvia visits Adrienne’s family. However, she soon becomes overwhelmed with worries. Upon her return, Joyce tells her that his health has improved and he has gone back to writing. Sylvia arranges for a French translation of Ulysses and begins preparing to smuggle copies into America illegally. She also notices that the relationship between Julie and Michel is floundering now that they have become parents. Julie distracts herself from these issues by helping with the typing, but Sylvia wishes that Julie could do more to help.

Following a party to celebrate the French translation of Ulysses, Ernest becomes depressed because he wants to earn a place amongst the more successful writers around him. Toward the end of the year, Sylvia visits Adrienne’s family and tries to support Joyce through the final stretch of his novel. Finally, at the start of 1922, they print the final copy, and Sylvia becomes emotionally overwhelmed. She brings the book to Joyce’s family and believes that she made the right choice to publish his work. Once the book is published, her shop becomes a notorious curiosity. Several writers reach out, seeking publication, but Sylvia doesn’t want to publish anything else.

Sylvia puts her smuggling plan into motion, with a friend of Ernest’s helping to move copies of Ulysses out of Canada. She voices concerns to Adrienne about piracy, but Quinn assures them that the serialized novel is fully copyrighted. When Sylvia and Adrienne go to bed, Adrienne arouses her by using food for physical pleasure. Later, Sylvia basks in the praise for the novel that she has published. More editions are released. However, Joyce’s life is disrupted when Nora leaves him and returns to Ireland. His health also deteriorates once again. Sylvia comforts him and considers the various struggles of her friends. Adrienne voices her opinion that Joyce and Nora are too different to be compatible and reminds Sylvia not to feel too responsible for the problems of others.