The Real Trial of Oscar Wilde

merlin holland

Oscar Wilde had one of literary history's most explosive love affairs with Lord Alfred "Bosie"Douglas. In 1895, Bosie's father, the Marquess of Queensberry, delivered a note to the Albemarle Club addressed to "Oscar Wilde posing as sodomite." With Bosie's encouragement, Wilde sued the Marquess for libel. He not only lost but he was tried twice for "gross indecency" and sent to prison with two years' hard labor.With this publication of the uncensored trial transcripts,readers can for the first time in more than a century hear Wilde at his most articulate and brilliant. The Real Trial of Oscar Wilde documents an alarmingly swift fall from grace; it is also a supremely moving testament to the right to live, work, and love as one's heart dictates.

Genres nonfictionhistorybiographylgbtqueervictorian19th centuryliteraturebritish literaturesexuality

384 pages, Paperback

First published November 1,2003

This edition

Format: 384 pages, Paperback
Published: October 5, 2004 by Harper Perennial
ISBN: 9780007158058
ASIN: 000715805X
Language: English

About the author

merlin holland

Christopher Merlin Vyvyan Holland is a British biographer and editor. He is the only grandchild of Oscar Wilde, whose life he has researched and written about extensively.