Britannica Sources used in this answer

Why was Ulysses banned in the United States and other English-speaking countries?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

James Joyce wearing a dark suit, light tie, round glasses, and a hat, looking to the side outdoors in Zurich, Switzerland. — James Joyce Irish writer James Joyce.

The novel Ulysses (1922) by James Joyce was banned in the United States and other English-speaking countries primarily because it was deemed obscene and prurient by contemporary authorities.31

Critics and anti-obscenity groups, such as the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice, targeted the work for its explicit sexuality and graphic depictions of bodily functions. The controversy began during the novel's serialization in The Little Review (1918–1920), which led to the seizure and burning of issues by the U.S. Post Office and the conviction of its publishers on obscenity charges.123

In the United States, the book remained effectively banned until the landmark 1933 court case United States v. One Book Called “Ulysses” cleared it for publication in 1934. Other nations maintained censorship for longer; for instance, Australia suppressed the novel until the mid-1950s, with officials citing concerns that the book ridiculed religious institutions and threatened domestic standards. While these bans reflected the moral anxieties of the era, the work is now widely regarded as a Modernist masterwork.321