The artistic director adam spreadburymaher of the kings head theatre and producer of constance pointed out that wildes son, vyvyan holland, wrote in 1954, a significant amount of the dialogue of constance bears the authentic stamp of my fathers hand. Nicholas frankels book together with laura lees study of alfred douglas and wildes legacy chart a. According to vyvyan hollands accounts in his autobiography, son of oscar. Oscar had a close friend and suspected lover, lord alfred douglas. Your support of our work is inspiring and invaluable. According to vyvyan hollands accounts in his autobiography, son of oscar wilde 1954, oscar was a devoted and loving. It was revised and updated by merlin holland in 1989. As the public interest in oscar wilde grew, and the lies about him multiplied, vyvyan holland, wilde s son, decided to write his own account of the oscar wilde scandal and its aftermath. The rare oscar wilde 1991 a dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world. In 1900 at the age of 46, he died of meningitis following an acute ear infection. Lord douglas had and abusive father, john douglas, the 9th marquess of queensberry. The hollands lived in melbourne from admirers of this sweetly sad book may be interested to know more about vyvyans second wife, thelma nee besant.
After his release from prison in 1897, oscar wilde lived in france in straitened circumstances. Vyvan holland was just a child when his beloved father oscar wilde disappeared from his life in 1895. His description of his life and of the rest of the family and of how he felt all that happened is amazing and very interesting. He was the second son of oscar wilde and constance lloyd, and had a brother cyril. The first publication of son of oscar wilde in 1954 was. The daughter of horace lloyd, an angloirish barrister. Son of oscar wilde gives some rare insight into a story that had never been fully told. There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Mar 18, 2017 vyvan holland was just a child when his beloved father oscar wilde disappeared from his life in 1895. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading delphi complete works of oscar wilde illustrated. Particularly noteworthy is the ballad of reading gaol, the verse he composed about his imprisonment. The picture of dorian gray by oscar wilde, the importance of being earnest by oscar wilde, the canterville ghost by oscar w. In 1954 wilde s son vyvyan holland published his memoir son of oscar wilde, which recounts the difficulties wilde s wife and children faced after his imprisonment. Oscar wilde biography and list of works oscar wilde books.
Son of oscar wilde by vyvyan holland, merlin holland. Son of oscar wilde oxford paperbacks oxford letters. A gifted poet from an early age he won prizes for his verse at university wilde reveals his heartbreak and hope in these poems. Son of oscar wilde is a remarkable story told by wildes youngest son. Evidently, by that time, the fact that oscar was a homosexual wasnt a secret to anyone. Vyvyan holland, obe 3 november 1886 10 october 1967, born vyvyan oscar beresford wilde in london, was a british author and translator. He was tried and imprisoned for his homosexual relationship with the son of an aristocrat. Delphi complete works of oscar wilde illustrated kindle. The best books on oscar wilde five books expert recommendations.
I loved it for its window into the world of family and oscar wilde. Oscar wilde by vyvyan holland goodreads share book. Oscar fingal oflahertie wills wilde 16 october 1854 30 november 1900 was an irish writer, poet and playwright. The book focuses on how the scandal caused by wilde s trials affected his family, most notably his wife, constance, and their children, cyril and vyvyan. The novel is written in the form of a diary which oscar. Delphi complete works of oscar wilde illustrated kindle edition by wilde, oscar. Oscar wilde, a critical study by arthur ransome was published in 1912. His private correspondence has also been published.
In 1943 she married oscar wildes only surviving son, and in 1945 she gave birth to oscars only grandson, merlin. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Stephen moss meets the man responsible for keeping the legacy alive wilde s grandson and geoffrey wheatcroft wonders why so much fuss is made over an. The combination of dazzling wit, subtle social criticism, sumptuous settings and the theme of a guilty secret proved a winner, both here and in his next three plays, a woman of no importance, an ideal husband, and his undisputed. Society and subversion in the plays of oscar wilde, and acts of desire. Harris was writing the book while many untrue rumors were still swirling about wildes life. An irish writer like no other, the beloved oscar wilde. Vyvyan holland has 18 books on goodreads with 2035 ratings. A summing up 1940 and two memoirs, the autobiography of lord alfred douglas 1929 and without. His father, sir william wilde, was irelands leading ear and eye surgeon, who also published books on archaeology. The marquess retaliated by having wilde arrested for. He was disgusted by his son s homosexuality and blamed wilde for his son s depravity.
Then, when vyvyan was not yet nine, oscar wilde was arrested for homosexual acts. Cyril holland born cyril wilde, 5 june 1885 9 may 1915 was the older of the two sons of oscar wilde and constance lloyd and brother to vyvyan holland. This scene you feel is superfluous cost me terrible exhausting labour and heartrending nervewracking strain. The book focuses on how the scandal caused by wildes trials affected his family, most notably his wife, constance, and their children, cyril and vyvyan. While oscar wilde cultivated a flamboyant public persona, his poems provide an intimate look at his inner life. First published in 1954, this account of oscar wilde s life written by his son tells of his childhood, and the oscar wilde affair and its aftermath, revealing wilde to have been the scapegoat of read more. Wildes last work, the ballad of reading gaol, was written shortly after his release from prison in 1897. First published in 1954, this account of oscar wilde s life written by his son tells of his childhood, and the oscar wilde affair and its aftermath, revealing wilde to have been the scapegoat of puritan hypocrisy. Son of oscar wilde has 4 available editions to buy at half price books marketplace. A book about the childhood and loneliness of being the son of oscar wilde. Several lives were ruined in a scandal that would be nothing more than jiucy fodder for the tabloids today. With an introduction and notes by anne varty, royal holloway, university of london oscar wilde took london by storm with his first comedy, lady windermeres fan.
The book gives an extremely detailed description of the rise and fall of wildes. Even if you are not a fan what kind of person are you. When oscar wilde was experiencing continual literary success, he began an intimate relationship with a young man, who was the son of the marquis of queensbury. Books by oscar wilde author of the picture of dorian gray. A popular perception persists of oscar wilde as an idle aesthete. She was also the wife of irish playwright oscar wilde and the mother of their two sons, cyril and vyvyan.
Stephen moss meets the man responsible for keeping the legacy alive wilde s grandson and geoffrey wheatcroft wonders why so much fuss is. From his outsize celebrity in victorian london to his authorship of fiction, drama, and poetry that uniquely captured his era, its fair to say that wilde succeeded on both counts. With its thirtythree previously unpublished oscar wilde letters and its poignant recollections of a man as spontaneous, humane, and sincere as he was prodigiously witty, vyvyan hollands memoir of his famous father has come to be regarded as a biographical classic in wildean studies. Literary accomplishments apart, wilde was famous for his wit and flamboyance with men. Wilde was born of professional and literary parents. Get the best deals on oscar wilde 1st edition books when you shop the largest online selection at. Now available with a new foreword by merlin holland, vyvyan hollands. It is a carefully cultivated image that wilde developed. Nov 24, 2000 it is 100 years since oscar wilde s death. Oscar wilde quotes on books and literature the books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame. Son of oscar wilde is a remarkable story told by wilde s youngest son.
Sharply observed, vivid and dispassionate, it offers an unforgettable portrait of wilde himself, his circle and his persecutors, as well as hollands own childhood and the lonliness of being oscar wildes son. Women and sex on stage, 18001930, a study of theatrical depictions of illicit sexuality, encompassing prostitution, adultery, bigamy and seduction. From wildes unhumble beginnings as the son of two reputable writers, to his college days in the thrall of ruskin and pater, to his flowerings as a poet and spokesman for aestheticism, ellmann presents the working wilde, a complex contrarian and sneaktongued snark. Wildes friend and colleague frank harris wrote this, one of the first biographies of wilde, in 1916. Crosland, the assistant editor of the academy and later repudiated by douglas, oscar wilde. Holland makes no effort to answer burning questions about the demise of his fatherone of the greatest figures of moden english literature. In very good condition, light foxing spots to page edges and end papers, edges and corners bumped. Buy a cheap copy of son of oscar wilde book by vyvyan holland.
For example, when he was told to take a scene out of the importance of being earnest by the actormanager george alexander, he replied. This is a bibliography of works by oscar wilde, a latevictorian irish writer. Mar 28, 2018 consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative. A life in letters was published, and his volume coffee with oscar wilde, an imagined conversation with wilde, was released in the autumn of 2007. Son of oscar wilde book by vyvyan holland thriftbooks. Vyvyan hollands most popular book is complete works of oscar wilde. Wilde s last work, the ballad of reading gaol, was written shortly after his release from prison in 1897. Dj is intact, shows shelf wear around corners and both ends. Oscar wilde books biography and list of works author. Only years later, did holland learn of wilde s great writings. Vyvyan wilde and his brother enjoyed a normal, happy victorian childhood.
Oscar wilde biography oscar fingal oflahertie wills wilde october 16, 1854 november 30, 1900 was an angloirish playwright, novelist, poet, and short story writer. So great was the scandal, that wilde s books were basically banned in england. Oscar wilde simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. According to his brother vyvyan hollands accounts in his autobiography, son of oscar wilde 1954, oscar was a devoted and loving father to his two sons. Holland makes no effort to answer burning questions about the demise of his father. The everquotable oscar wilde once said, anybody can make history.
Chiefly remembered today as a playwright, especially for the importance of being earnest, and as the author of the picture of dorian gray. Hyde recorded in the annotated oscar wilde that yeats called it a great or almost great poem, but the fact that he chose only thirtyeight of the poems 109 stanzas for publication in the oxford book of modern verse suggests his awareness. This is widely regarded as the most researched and factually correct biography of wilde. For publicly slandering him, wilde sued the marquess. Books by vyvyan holland author of son of oscar wilde. First published in 1954, this account of oscar wildes life written by his son tells of his childhood, and the oscar wilde affair and its aftermath, revealing wilde to have been the scapegoat of puritan hypocrisy. With its thirtythree previously unpublished oscar wilde letters and its poignant recollections of a man as spontaneous, humane, and sincere as he was prodigiously. The first publication of son of oscar wilde in 1954 was a daring endeavor, considering that homosexuality remained a crime in england at that time, and his father had been convicted of that crime.