Oscar Wilde Books

Wilde's The Portrait of Mr W.H., is an interesting account of the mystery of W.H., the person Shakespeare devoted his famous Sonnets.

When one reads Wilde's prose, one can actually feel his thoughts and feelings. As critic and author, Peter Ackroyd, comments:

`This is quintessential Wilde, introducing paradox into the realm of speculation and wit into the sphere of art.'

Most English 19th century intellectuals were sincerely obsessed with Shakespeare's Sonnets, because it is the bard's notions on love, art, beauty and what it really means to be an artist.

Rather than spoil the plot, let me just say that the book covers Aestheticism, Literary Criticism and obsession with `literature' which can, in some cases, be worse than opium addiction.

If one has any interest in the Aesthetic movement of that period will find this novella fascinating.

As is well known, Elizabethian England did not allow women to act on the stage as it was viewed as improper for a lady. Thus male actor's had to play the female roles. It is the protagonists thesis that the mysterious W.H. was a male actor who performed most of Shakespear's female roles, thus the Sonnets, and the proposal that the Bard had a particular fascination with the young actor.

The Portrait of Mr. W.H. was written over a time period of a few years, the final draft finished by Wilde while he was incarcerated in the Reading Gaol. This final manuscript disappeared for many years to then turn up in a personal collection.

This short piece is recommended to all those interested in Wilde and the 19th century Aesthetic movement.

This little book is about Shakespeare's sonnets, but more than that it is a book about nineteenth-century young men and their obsession with Shakespeare. Two in particular become completely engaged by a particular literary interpretation--that Shakespeare wrote his beautiful sonnets not for a wealthy patron, but to his Rosalind, or rather to the actor who played all his lovely strong women--that is, to an adolescent boy. The book is a cautionary tale about heightened involvement in literary ideas. A literary idea can possess one as completely as opium, and can be just as dangerous

I only came to this page to mark that I loved this book using the star system. Seeing that there is only one other review for this book I feel an obligation to write something more in its support. Maybe just telling you, the potential reader, this fact will tell at how much I like this book.

First off, if you've never read anything by Oscar Wilde before, this is a great place to start. He is a man who wrote in two extremes, though with many dimensions of those two: the very high and the very low. This book covers both of those poles in a complete way, giving the reader a feel of what the author can do with words.

Take the low pole, for example. The story 'The Nightingale and the Rose' will move you to tears if you're not careful to read it from a 'happy place'. It is a sad tale that observes love in a seemingly juvenile way (being that it is written as a fairy tale, something most modern audiences are not used to reading as adult literature and find themselves approaching with all their defenses down) but that handles it in such a way as to tilt our ready emotions into an abyss we are probably not ready to handle. Fairy tales are supposed to be about princesses, horses, and godmothers, right? "So what is this..?" We find ourselves asking at the end. It is genius.

To go to the other extreme of his work, try out 'Lord Arthur Saville's Crime' a story that begins with the title character finding himself caught up with a chiromancer (palm reader) who tells him that he is going to murder someone. The poor fellow, feeling that he cannot go forward with his engagement to a woman until this task is taken care of, goes about attempting to murder several unsuspecting characters. He does this knowing that it is his obligation, that he cannot possibly be happy until he has done what he must. I challenge you to read this and not laugh until you are red in the face.

Either extreme makes you think. The first story will have you questioning what love really is made of, looking inside of yourself to see to which extreme you gravitate. The latter story will have you wondering at fate versus destiny; which played its role in this story? I will not give away the ending but will tell you that you should spend some time pondering its conclusion.

Yet even in touching on these two stories I have but skimmed ever so lightly across what delights this book holds. Try the sinister implications found in the repetitions of 'The Fisherman and His Soul'. Laugh at the idiotic characterizations of Americans (I'm an American, for the record on this- yet it was still funny) in 'The Canterville Ghost'. Ponder on the parallels in the 'Poems Written in Prose' at the back of the book, each of which is like a short, succinct question to the reader.

Bottom line: I cannot recommend this book enough. I cannot recommend Oscar Wilde and his works enough.

-LP

Oscar Wilde is my favorite author and in my opinion one of the greatest writers to have ever lived.His magnificent stories can make you laugh out loud but they can also move you to tears.No library is complete without the writings of Oscar Wilde.And I highly recommend this book and anything else by Oscar Wilde.

Oscar Wilde complete shorter fiction contains all of Oscar Wildes fairy tales.And it also contains his short stories and some poems.

The fairy tales collected in this volume are "The Nightingale and The Rose" and "The Selfish Giant" and "The Happy Prince".The aforementioned tales happen to be my absolute favorites.The are among the most beautiful stories I have ever read and they will truly touch your heart.Other fairy tales in this book are "The Devoted Friend" and "The Remarkable Rocket".

The short stories in this collection include" Lord Arthur Savile`s Crime "and "The Sphinx Without a Secret".And also "The Canterville Ghost" and "The Model Millionaire"."The Canterville Ghost" is absolutely hilarious and yet at the same time very touching.

Other stories contained in this book are "The Young King" "The Birthday Of Infanta" and "The Fisherman and his Soul "and also "The Star Child"."The Birthday Of Infanta" will truly break your heart and "The Fisherman and his Soul" is also a very touching story.

The poems in this book include The Artist, The Doer of Good,The Disciple, "The Master" and "The House Of Judgement" and "The Teacher of Wisdom".

I highly recommend this book and if you haven`t read any of these stories treat yourself to this book you won`t be sorry.

This book is nicely done - lots of pictures and illustrations, with a narrative that moves well, and is plenty comprehensive - Wilde was an in interesting man, but - like Truman Capote - a superficial thing. One doesn't need more detail than this book offers.

The book itself is nicely done. It has a lot of interestingpictures and facts. It is a must for anybody who is even mildlyinterested in Wilde. A wonderful account of his life, complete with quotes and photos.

Kissack, Terrence. "Free Comrades: Anarchy and Homosexuality in the United States, 1985-1917". AK, 2008.

Investigating Our Past

Amos Lassen

Terrence Kissack has done some serious research to write "Free Comrades". He looked at public records, journals and books published between 1895 and 1917 and gives us more information about our history. Several anarchists, among them Emma Goldman, Benjamin Tucker and Alexander Berkman, defended the right of individuals to pursue same-sex relations and challenged the conservative beliefs of fellow anarchists as well as those outside of the movement--medical authorities, the clergy and the police. These anarchists were not like the more modern 20th century activists as they were interested in more than a reformist agenda of singular issue political issues. They saw the liberation of the homosexual in much broader ways and looked as to how it would bring about a transformation in economic, social and political ways. Most of us had no idea that anarchists were aligned to our desires for liberation and we even get somewhat of a look at the sexual lives of those same anarchists. They were not concerned with the issues of gay marriage and the right to serve in the military as singular issues but at the larger picture.
Kissack examines the trial of Oscar Wilde and the life and works of Walt Whitman and shows how these two events affected our lives. He discusses the Berkman's prison memoirs and lets us know about his explicit treatment of homosexual relations.
The anarchist's defended the right for gay men and lesbians to enter into same-sex partnerships which were free from governmental restraints and they challenged society in ways that have not been done since.
Not only do we learn about our past by reading "Free Comrades" but we are entertained. Kissack writes in a way that this becomes a refreshing look at our country's past.

Having finished reading this fascinating book just minutes ago, I immediately rushed to my computer to write a review. In "Free Comrades", queer historian Terence Kissack explores the thoughts of early 20th century anarchists on the subject of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender liberation. Unlike contemporary LGBT activists who are primarily interested in advancing a liberal, reformist agenda of single-issue identity politics, anarchists like Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman saw queer liberation as part of a much broader movement for economic, political, and social transformation.
For historians and activists alike, this book is very educational. For example, while Goldman's anarcha-feminist sexual politics are quite well-known, I had no idea that Benjamin Tucker and Alexander Berkman were such important allies to the queer community or that rumors were circulating about Bakunin's relationship with Nechaev! I especially loved reading about Berkman's homoerotic relationships and fantasies in prison and Ben Reitman's desire to have a threesome with Almeda Sperry and the handsome Hutchins Hapgood! With the present-day LGBT movement embracing capitalism and oppressive institutions like marriage and the military, "Free Comrades" is a fun and refreshing read. Thank you Kissack for writing this wonderful book! I will be recommending it to every queer person I know!!!

I agree with the other reviewer - this is a beautifully written novel based on the life (and loves) of Oscar Wilde. It would be of interest to those well informed on Wilde's life and his literary works, and also to anyone interested in gay-themed historical fiction. Highly recommended.

This book is a beautifully written, purple-prosed account of Oscar Wilde's life from the height of his fame as an aesthete to his tragic death in a seedy Paris hotel. Reilly has succeeded in capturing the style of Wilde in his speaking and in the book's descriptive passages, and his writing gives life to people like Constance (Wilde's wife), Robbie Ross, and Bosie, and their lives seperate from Oscar are shown in interesting detail. Each character is given real depth and motivation. I normally do not like "Fictionalized Biographies," but this one is moving and well-written.

This is a most amazing book. One would almost believe that, like his beloved William Blake, Ackroyd has the ability to rendevouz with the spirits and have Wilde dictate this marvelous account of his exile in Paris. A cunning pastiche of Wilde's wit and wisdom, this book charts the decent into the human condition. Littered with irony and humour, this book will leave the reader hungry for more insights into the genius of Oscar Wilde and I would reccomend it to everybody, even the few that may not be aware of the subject matter. From the dens of sin to the oppressive beauty of Paris society, the reader is on the journey with Wilde all the way.

There is humour and pathos here as Peter Ackroyd presents the voice of Oscar Wilde during Wilde's last days in Paris near the turn of the century. Though he was living in exile and was very poor, Wilde's observations are sharp and he bravely steps back from self-pity. He is able to assess his own life as an aesthete and writer. He spends his time in cafes, with English friends and with French acquaintances. As he becomes more ill the tone of the voice of Wilde becomes more poignant but till the end he is full of wit. At the very end he dies in his hotel room. This is an immensely satisfying book. All who are interested in Wilde will be drawn into Peter Ackroyd's poetic prose as he recreates from his own study and imagination the last days of the Irish wit and writer, with his degradation and dignity. In the end Wildes's literary wit triumphs and remains while his detractors and persecutors are forgotten

Richard Ellman's fascinating biography follows Wilde from his beginnings as a brilliant student to his tragic end, when he haunted European locales that had delighted him in better times like a living ghost. The early part of the book is the least interesting. Wilde was one of the first useless celebrities-figures who gain notoriety simply because something odd or appealing about them keeps them in the public eye apart from any actual talent (although Wilde was, by all accounts, an excellent speaker). Ellman's analysis of Wilde's aestheticism is, I suppose, essential to a complete understanding of the man, but since the matters that Wilde devoted so much of his energy to were so frivolous and trivial, it doesn't make for a very good read. Later, though, Wilde demonstrates his talent with the publication of "The Picture of Dorian Gray" and his successful plays, and the biography picks up as well. Wilde becomes a truly tragic figure by the end, ruined by his love for Lord Alfred Douglas, hounded by Douglas's father the Marquis of Queensberry, imprisoned, and finally betrayed and forgotten by most of his former friends. For all his wit and insight, Wilde emerges as a curiously naïve character and basically a good man, kind and trusting to a fault.

an eloquent and exhaustive work that is a pleasure to read. Provides a comprehensive look into the subject's life, which every biography should do.

this is a great bio on oscar wilde not only did the author talk with people who knew oscar wilde it was good not boring or slow at all

Hyde lived in Wilde's college room in the 30's and has items,letters and additional research that are now timeless and priceless in the growing reexamination ot the life, times and ideas of Oscar Wilde . If available , this is a must for any research or documentary on Wilde's young years and the travails of imprisonment."Sorrow knows no change and sometimes it deepens with the bitterness of despair "( Lady Wilde) p.7. Read it.

Professor Knox offers a splendid overview and critique of contemporary Oscar Wilde criticism. She illustrates how "-ism-guided" approaches tend to utilize Wilde for their own agendas rather than trying to come to terms with the contradictory and fascinating nature of his oeuvre. This book is a must read for any Wilde scholar as well as for advanced students pursuing work on Wilde or on approaches to literature.

I greatly enjoyed both the thorough examination of many important Wilde critics of the 1990s and the sensible point of view. The author defends clear writing and makes a forceful defense of biographically and psychologically based criticism, enlisting Wilde's own remarks in her argument. Her criticism of literary jargon is occasionally biting, and justifiably so. This is a book not for the politically correct, but rather the openminded scholar or student of literature. It is safe to say that Wilde himself would have enjoyed it.

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Wilde's grandson Merlin Holland--(himself a Wilde scholar)--has produced this nice edition of selected letters to effect a kind of autobiographical narrative. It works well and will probably suffice for most readers.

Students and scholars, however, will of course require the complete letters--(now inexplicably out of print): this is especially true for the "leftover years" (as Richard Ellmann has termed them): that is, the final 3.5 years of Wilde's life on the Continent after his release from prison in England, May 1897.

The Complete Letters of Oscar Wilde

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The only thing missing from this careful selection of letters from throughout the life of the prolific and pioneering and brilliant Irishman Oscar Wilde is that letter written under the most impossible of circumstances and often published elsewhere and easily accessible with the imposed and unoriginal title of De profundis, perhaps the most essential letter in all the Wilde opus.

But first, a divergence to a rather dark wood, as contrast to this bright light.

James Joyce's grandson, who emptily boasts of being "a Joyce, not a Joycean," has burned, concealed and otherwise destroyed and made unavailable to scholarly review correspondence and other documents relating to the study of that greatest writer of the Twentieth Century. He has demonstrated himself uninterested and incapable of the study of his own grandfather, but has restricted access and permissions for the academic study of his grandfather's work. He shows interest only in increasing material profit from for example Ulysses (Gabler Edition), the greatest novel of the 20th century, required reading in any upper level college course and thus a guaranteed source of income in any case, no need to restrict access. Thus he completes that publication persecution which persisted throughout his grandfather's too brief yet generous lifetime, and beyond, in which his books could find no publisher in an English speaking land, including in America, the alleged Land of the Free. Apparently this living Joyce inherited his grandmother's intellect and his great-grandfather's economy rather than his grandfather's great heart and mind.

Another cosmopolitan Irishman like James Joyce, and the nineteenth century's greatest writer mainly in English, Mr. Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde would fare much better in his progeny. Vyvyan, his son who survived the British imperialist war (unlike his heroic brother) became in later life a brilliant writer on Wilde, including most touchingly in Son of Oscar Wilde. Now Oscar Wilde's grandson, Merlin, has proven himself to be one of the world's leading authorities on the subject of his grandfather, after years of keen academic study and irrepressible heartfelt affection. Merlin would humbly be the first to deny this; yet his body of work and commentary speak for themselves.

Within the publishing industry arose a profitable cottage industry of brief collections of pithy yet empty Wilde quotes and epigrams drawn stricly out of context, seeking to deny Wilde's brilliant social commentary and tame him to a proto-Noel Coward. Merlin saves his monumental grandfather from such a civilizing fate, as well as from the popular rumors, libels and scandals which still hound him. From Merlin we may find The Real Trial of Oscar Wilde, also published in England as Irish Peacock and Scarlet Marquess. We find Merlin contributing learned yet highly readable commentary and forewords to a number of collections of Wilde's works, including Complete Works of Oscar Wilde (Collins Classics) and Stories for Young People: Oscar Wilde (Stories for Young People). He does stoop to contributing one popularized collection in Coffee with Oscar Wilde (Coffee with...Series) as well as phoning in an interview at the end of the recent recording of A Woman of No Importance, an interview in which he is continually interrupted by the aggressive interviewess and in which we find his great humility and untapped wisdom. And of course he is editor of the enormous and highly desirable The Complete Letters of Oscar Wilde to which this present edition refers.

This collection, A Life in Letters, truly fulfills its title, drawing us through the full life of Mr. Wilde at every point from his first going to school to his final years before his early and tragic death in 1900. Merlin Holland contributes astute biographical commentary throughout and excellent auxiliary material, including an index of recipients, etc.

This book is highly recommended for any serious student of literature mainly in English, for understanding more clearly Mr. Wilde. This book therefore finds worthy place in any college or advanced high school library, and is a very good and substantial substitute for all of those droll collections of Wildean sayings drawn from the heart of his work. If you thus prefer to sip and to savor rather than avidly to consume your Wilde, here is a good place to start, guided by a brilliant, knowledgable and caring host in his learned grandson Merlin, who so eagerly and rightly shares with us all of the remarkable aspects of his genius and Irish grandfather.