For #Ulysses100 day, here’s a short thread with a few of my favourite records from the collection at @UkNatArchives relating to its suppression. I wrote a chapter of my PhD on Ulysses, and it will always have both a soft spot in my heart and a place in my worst anxiety dreams.
Firstly, the Dir. of Public Prosecutions, opening with the remarkable assertion that he hasn’t read the book & implies he shouldn’t be expected to. He has read 42 pages starting from p.690 but blames the book, not himself, for the fact these pages don’t give him the full picture. 
He concludes that, in essence, no matter what arguments are put forward to support the book, the answer is that it is filthy, and that trumps everything else.
In 1926, a certain F.R. Leavis at Cambridge wanted a copy - he was branded ‘a crank - or worse.’ The Vice Chancellor had to confirm he was, in fact, a real person and delivered lectures on literature.
The next two are precious to me for highlighting the decisions that go into the preservation of records and a reminder how easily they can be lost. ‘Unlikely to go to P.R.O’ (Public Record Office, now @UkNatArchives) - I, for one, am grateful it did.
It seems this was sent to be destroyed but had a last minute reprieve (rubbish photo, I only noticed this later, so it wasn’t my main focus when I took it).
And finally, in tribute to the famous toilet scene, I like to think Joyce himself have been amused that there was Home Office official involved in this case named A. Crapper. Poetic justice.
File references are HO144/20071 and MEPO 3/930.
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