Oscar Wilde The Great Drama Of His Life

In the 1890s Oscar Wilde enjoyed one of the most high-profile reputations in Britain; yet, virtually overnight, he was plunged into disgrace and ruin. What were the reasons for this extraordinary reversal of fortune? This title explores Wilde's motivation in prosecuting the Marquess of Queensberry, and elaborates on the precarious legal situation.

In the 1890s, Oscar Wilde enjoyed one of the most high-profile reputations in Britain. Yet, virtually overnight, he was plunged into disgrace and ruin. What were the reasons for this extraordinary reversal of fortune? This book - now available in paperback - explores Wilde's motivation in prosecuting the Marquess of Queensberry, and it elaborates on the precarious legal situation that effectively quashed any prospect of a withdrawal from the lawsuit without dire consequences. The book examines the medical and psychiatric aspects of Wilde's two-year imprisonment and reveals the machinations among prison officials and doctors to cover up Wilde's state of health, based on the original Home Office records. Wilde's medical history is presented with an expert evaluation of his terminal illness, including a resolution of the syphilis controversy. The book also details Wilde's tangled matrimonial affairs during his imprisonment and goes on to disclose the maneuvers adopted by friends to secure his early release, citing hitherto unpublished letters to show that bribery of prison personnel was seriously contemplated. The issue of homosexuality is discussed not only in relation to Oscar Wilde, but from the broader historical, legal, and biological perspective. Wilde's character and behavior is portrayed through the images he projected onto society, by the strong but mixed public reaction to him, and by the quality of his interpersonal relationships with his wife, family, and close friends. Finally, Wilde's personality is assessed using internationally accepted diagnostic criteria. In an unusual and innovative experiment, a group of Wildean scholars completed a psychological questionnaire as if they were doing so for Oscar Wilde himself. Drawing on these findings and on his own extensive psychiatric experience, author Ashley Robins concludes that Wilde had a personality disorder that culminated in the final and tragic phase of his life.

'Some said my life was a lie but I always knew it to be the truth; for like the truth it was rarely pure and never simple' Oscar Wilde, 3 days before his death Oscar Wilde was one of the great personalities of his age. As paradox was the motive force of his wit, so it was the defining motif of his life. He was an Irish Protestant fascinated by the Catholic church, an English writer who claimed to be better understood in France, a homosexual man married with two small children, an artist who achieved fame before he produced art, a dandy who made artificiality a natural mode of expression. Wilde stood in symbolic relations to his times. His prose and his actions confronted both the materialism and the hypocrisy of the Victorian Age. It was a dazzling display, of wit, intellect, daring, and - eventually - recklessness. And he paid the price for it. In this rich, humane and colourful new biography, the critically acclaimed biographer Matthew Sturgis considers the paradoxes and dramatic ironies of Wilde's life. It is a life that seems to take on the force and colour of fiction. The arc of his career, from early promise and initial disappointment, via huge triumph and spectacular self-indulged disgrace to an ultimate pathos-touched resolution, might follow the trajectory of one of Wilde's own fairy stories, but it is in its detail, its awkwardness, and its humanity that the real truth and drama lie.

Enriched Classics offer readers accessible editions of great works of literature enhanced by helpful notes and commentary. Each book includes educational tools alongside the text, enabling students and readers alike to gain a deeper and more developed understanding of the writer and their work. Wilde’s classic comedy of manners, The Importance of Being Earnest, a satire of Victorian social hypocrisy and considered Wilde’s greatest dramatic achievement, and his other popular plays—Lady Windermere’s Fan, An Ideal Husband, and Salome—challenged contemporary notions of sex and sensibility, class and cultural identity. Enriched Classics enhance your engagement by introducing and explaining the historical and cultural significance of the work, the author’s personal history, and what impact this book had on subsequent scholarship. Each book includes discussion questions that help clarify and reinforce major themes and reading recommendations for further research. Read with confidence.

This meticulously edited Oscar Wilde collection is formatted for your eReader with a functional and detailed table of contents: Plays: Vera The Duchess of Padua Lady Windermere's Fan A Woman of No Importance Salomé Salome (English Version) An Ideal Husband The Importance of Being Earnest La Sainte Courtisane A Florentine Tragedy For Love of the King Novel: The Picture of Dorian Gray (The Original Version) The Picture of Dorian Gray (The Revised 20 Chapter Version) Short Stories: The Portrait of Mr. W. H. The Happy Prince and Other Tales: The Happy Prince The Nightingale and the Rose The Devoted Friend The Selfish Giant The Remarkable Rocket A House of Pomegranates: The Young King The Birthday of the Infanta The Fisherman and His Soul The Star-Child Lord Arthur Savile's Crime and Other Stories: Lord Arthur Savile's Crime The Canterville Ghost The Sphinx Without a Secret The Model Millionaire Poetry: Ravenna Hélas! Eleutheria Sonnet to Liberty Ave Imperatrix Louis Napoleon. Quantum Mutata Libertatis Sacra Fames Theoretikos The Garden of Eros Rosa Mystica The Burden of Itys Wind Flowers Impression du Matin Magdalen Walks Athanasia Serenade Endymion La Bella Donna della Mia Mente Chanson Charmides Flowers of Gold The Sphinx The Ballad of Reading Gaol… Essays & Lectures: Intentions The Decay of Lying The Critic as Artist Pen, Pencil, and Poison The Truth of Masks The Rise of Historical Criticism The English Renaissance of Art House Decoration Art and the Handicraftsman Lecture to Art Students London Models Poems in Prose The Soul of Man under Socialism Phrases and Philosophies for the Use of the Young A Few Maxims for the Instruction of the Over-Educated De Profundis Impressions of America… Literary Reviews: Dinners and Dishes A Modern Epic Shakespeare on Scenery A Bevy of Poets Parnassus versus Philology… Other Works: Aphorisms Des Grieux (Prelude to Teleny) Teleny Letters: Letters to the Daily Chronicle Children in Prison and Other Cruelties of Prison Life Letters on Dorian Gray Letters to Robert Ross Oscar Wilde, His life and Confessions – Biography by Frank Harris

"The five plays in the volume were first performed between 1892 and 1896"--Title page verso.

Wilde the writer is known to us from his plays and fiction, yet it was in his conversation that his genius reached its summit. His talk is lost, his autobiography was never written, but his letters reveal him at his best. Here, they are collected, together with a commentary and photographs.

Oscar Wilde took London by storm with his first comedy, Lady Windermere's Fan. His other plays include: A Woman of No Importance and The Importance of Being Earnest. This work features Wilde's plays ranging from his early tragedy era to the controversial Salome and little known fragments, La Sainte Courtisane and A Florentine Tragedy.