'Sherlockholmesing' Leopold Paula Bloom

James Joyce’s methods and models in delineating his fictional characters has become a critical obsession for many. The real-life identity of Leopold Bloom, the protagonist of Ulysses, continues to challenge. Many of the contenders share personal qualities, beliefs, and aspects of Joyce’s Jewish character. Yet none can be described as an Irishman whose experience as a Jew in fin de siècle Dublin was specific to that time and place.

In 2022, an Irish-Jewish model for Bloom was proposed by Neil R. Davison. Albert Liebes Lascar Altman, a Jewish Dublin businessman and nationalist politician born in Prussian Poland, shared certain similarities with Bloom. Vincent Altman O’Connor, a Joycean and relative of Albert, will discuss this new model.