These conflicting imperatives fired Oscar’s creativity and found expression in his writing. He was torn between the desire to proclaim the existence of his secret life and the need to conceal it. He was a husband and a father, a poet and a playwright, a wit and a dandy, and a lover of young men. As time went by, he not only surrendered to these sexual feelings, but embraced them, and eventually became a brave champion of ‘the Love that dare not speak its name’.įor years, Oscar had a secret sexual and emotional life. Like many men of his time, Oscar struggled long and hard against his overwhelming sexual feelings for young men, before he decided to surrender to them. Most accounts of Oscar’s life present him as predominantly heterosexual, a man whose later love of men was at best some sort of aberration, a temporary madness and, at worst, a slow-growing cancer, a terrible sexual addiction which slowly destroyed his mind and his body.īut the truth, as Oscar famously remarked, is rarely pure and never simple. It was a journey of self-discovery with more than its fair share of love and lust, joy and despair, comedy and tragedy.ĭespite many excellent biographies and critical studies, comparatively little has been written about Oscar’s sexuality and his sexual behaviour. This biography sets out to tell that story, to chart Oscar’s odyssey to find his true sexual self, from the troubled and uncertain first stirrings of his feelings for other men, to the joyous paganism of his last years in exile. ‘Some day the truth will have to be known: not necessarily in my lifetime or in Douglas’s,’ he wrote shortly before his release from Reading Gaol. Oscar Wilde always knew that the story of his emotional and sexual life, and especially the story of his disastrous affair with Lord Alfred Douglas, would one day be told in full. London (England)-Social life and customs-19th century. Sex customs-England-London-History-19th century. Includes bibliographical references and index.ġ. Originally published: London: Century, 2003. The secret life of Oscar Wilde / Neil McKenna The Library of Congress has catalogued the hardcover edition as follows: Corrections may be made to future printings. For more information, please contact the Special Markets Department at the Perseus Books Group, 11 Cambridge Center, Cambridge MA 02142, or call (617) 252-5298 or (800) 255-1514, or e-mail author and publisher has made all reasonable efforts to contact copyright holders for permission and apologize for any omissions or errors in the form of credit is given. Neil McKenna has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the author of this workīooks published by Basic Books are available at special discounts for bulk purchases in the United States by corporations, institutions, and other organizations. For information, address Basic Books, 387 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016-8810.įirst published in the United Kingdom in 2003 by Century No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Paperback edition first published in 2006 by Basic BooksĪll rights reserved. He never returned to Ireland or Britain, and died in poverty.Hardcover edition first published in 2005 by Basic Books, After Wilde was released from prison he set sail for Dieppe by the night ferry. Several of his plays continue to be widely performed, especially The Importance of Being Earnest.Īs the result of a widely covered series of trials, Wilde suffered a dramatic downfall and was imprisoned for two years hard labour after being convicted of "gross indecency" with other men. Known for his biting wit, and a plentitude of aphorisms, he became one of the most successful playwrights of the late Victorian era in London, and one of the greatest celebrities of his day. Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish playwright, poet, and author of numerous short stories, and one novel. He never returned to Ireland or Britain, and died in poverty. As the result of a widely covered series of trials, Wilde suffered a dramatic downfall and was imprisoned for two years hard labour after being convicted of "gross indecency" with other men. Several of his plays continue to be widely performed, especially The Importance of Being Earnest.
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