James Joyce Likely Had Syphilis From Prostitutes, New Book SaysAdam Weinstein6/03/14 12:20pm895EditPromoteDismissUndismissHideGo to permalinkJames Joyce—literary titan, slayer of Victorian shibboleths, bane of schoolchildren the world over—was probably crippled and blinded by hooker-caused syphilis, according to new medical and documentary evidence uncovered by a Harvard researcher.