The Secret Life of Oscar Wilde: An Intimate Biography - Hardcover

McKenna, Neil

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0465044387 ISBN 13: 9780465044382

Publisher: Basic Books, 2005

Synopsis

Oscar Wilde said of himself, I put all my genius into my life; I put only my talent into my work.” Now, for the first time, Neil McKenna focuses on the tormented genius of Wilde's personal life, reproducing remarkable love letters and detailing Wilde's until-now unknown relationships with other men.McKenna has spent years researching Wilde's life, drawing on extensive new material, including never-before published poems as well as recently discovered trial statements made by male prostitutes and blackmailers about Wilde. McKenna provides explosive evidence of the political machinations behind Wilde's trials for sodomy, as well as his central role in the burgeoning gay world of Victorian London. Dazzlingly written and meticulously researched, The Secret Life of Oscar Wilde fully charts Wilde's astonishing odyssey through London's sexual underworld and paints a frank and vivid psychological portrait of a troubled genius.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

"A sensational new biography."
--Bent

"A bustling revealing and downright moving portrayal of the troubled genius."
--Attitude

"...a bold book."
--Guardian

From the Inside Flap:

Oscar Wilde was not only extremely sexually promiscuous but also a campaigner for sexual freedom, argues McKenna. His last days in Paris were not miserable either; as Paris gave him freedom from the narrowness of London.

About this edition

• Publisher: Basic Books
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0465044387
• ISBN 13: 9780465044382
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 576