- Hardcover: 512 pages
- Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Ltd; First Edition edition (1 Jun 2000)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0340767707
- ISBN-13: 978-0340767702
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.7 x 3.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 506,857 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Amazon.co.uk Review
There is a vogue these days for biographies of minor, peripheral characters who lived on the margins of literary greatness: Tennyson's wife, for instance, or Dickens' mistress. This new biography of Lord Alfred Douglas, the son of the Marquess of Queensbury and, most scandalously, the lover of Oscar Wilde, has attracted huge attention because of the age of the biographer. Douglas Murray began writing it at 17, and he is only 20 now. It is an astonishing achievement: mature, considered, fluently written and richly detailed. Bosie's youth was the epitome of the 1890s,"greenery-yallery" decadence, but unlike his lover and mentor, the brilliant, doomed Wilde, Bosie lived on until 1945, becoming increasingly religious, repentant about his past (as Wilde never was), and finally a recluse. On one key issue, however, Murray seems seriously off-message: he argues that Bosie was a major literary figure in his own right, and that the value of his poetry has been seriously underrated. "He was a poet not just of the 90s but one who would endure the 20th century and produce a poem that would echo as a work of searing faith and a testament to spiritual renewal." Er ... no. The poem Murray alludes to is "In Excelsis", Bosie's riposte to Wilde's work "De Profundis". But it is tiresomely self-absorbed, antiquated, and unimaginative, a prolonged whinge about the lot of the misunderstood genius. Nevertheless, Bosie's story is still worth telling, even if his poetic reputation is not worth defending, and Murray tells it extremely well. --Christopher Hart
Sunday Telegraph
'Douglas Murray is a remarkable young writer with a confident style'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Every text has a context, and the works on Lord Alfred Douglas prior to this work were far from authoritative, and the early works were highly tendentious. The life of Bosie, by the 1920s had become shrouded in myth, legend and venom as rivals from the Wilde circle carried on a bitter war of words. Bosie also played a role in this obfuscation through his writing on the subject of his relationship with Wilde.
Douglas Murray has accomplished the definitive biography on Bosie and has done more than any other biographer to dispel the clouds of myth which wreathe his subject. The author luckily gained access to materials still within copyright. But he was not merely lucky. The work is authoritative as it is comprehensive it its scope, dealing with every aspect of Bosie's life. Crucially Murray deals with Bosie's life after Wilde, and the final sad days. Murray deals with this maturely, achieving something which no previous biographer of Bosie has-the articulation of the sad truth of Bosie's life, which is the transition from the beautiful boy whose 'slim gilt soul walks between passion and poetry' (Wilde, letter Jan. 1893) into the lonely, desperate, isolated figure of his old age. The fact of his failure in life is revealed in all its sadness and the poignance of this is evocatively expressed.
Murray achieves a just and balanced assessment of Bosie, his motives and his conduct. Often, Murray writes against the grain of received opinion. The established view that Bosie was merely a vicious, evil young man, a sort of real life Dorian Gray, (the view partially seen in the film 'Wilde' and expressed other less well-researched works) is shown to be myth. Murray has given us the 'real' Bosie, as he has researched thoroughly and, most importantly, understands and empathises with his subject. In addition, Murray understands the mentalite (the different manner of thought) in fin-de-siecle England concerning homosexuality, and this adds greatly to the value of the work and to the effort to reveal the truth about Bosie and his motives after Wilde (his subsequent marriage, his rejection of his past and his damaged psyche).
Murray is ground-breaking in that he also deals with the poetry and provides us with a biography which includes literary criticism of the highest order. Bosie's skill and facility as a poet has been obscured beneath the one oft-quoted line, 'Mine is the love that dare not speak its name', recited in court in the criminal prosecution of Wilde. Murray brings the poetry to light, and analyses them for the first time. This literary study reveals not merely genius and brilliance (and an additional aspect of Bosie which Wilde loved) but also the humanity of the boy. Wilde, no slight expert on artistic matters, deemed Bosie's poetry to possess the gift of 'that light lyrical grace that you always have' (letter, 13th August 1894) and caused Wilde to remark early on in their relationship that, 'your slim gilt soul walks between passion and poetry' (letter, Jan. 1893).
Fundamentally, the human side of Bosie is revealed. The difficult, arrogant, vain, gifted, brilliant, and beautiful young man, whose company inspired Wilde to write the brilliant sestet of plays, and who himself wrote brilliant (and under-rated) poetry. These interrelated aspects of Bosie-the poetry and the humanity which was the wellspring of it-are brilliantly tied together. Bosie has a vision of life after death in which, despite all his sins and his wasted days,
'My youth, equipped to go, turns back again,
Throws down its heavy pack of years and runs
Back to the golden house a golden boy.'
Murray thus reveals the sad truth of Bosie's life: the boy who could never grow up, cope with change, or accept himself.
WM
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Being someone who isn't particularly keen on reading biographies, I was surprised at how my attention was captured by this well-written book on the largely forgotten life of Lord Alfred Douglas (Bosie), the famous lover of Oscar Wilde. Employing a language devoid of ostentatious frills, Douglas Murray's mainly chronological analysis is based on reliable manuscripts, diaries and letters.
Bosie is oft portrayed as a frivolous, insensitive young man whose actions lead to Wilde's incarceration and consequent poverty and demise. Born into an ancient, highly influential family stained by occurrences of self-destructive insanity, Bosie was a charming, intelligent and exceptionally handsome man- and unfortunately, snotty, unstable and quick tempered - one who was born with a silver spoon and uses it detrimentally in the wild rage of someone who has everything and has nothing to lose. As a poet (Murray provides snippets of Douglas' poetry) and an editor, his tactlessness aided in creating enemies, often by trusting people too much. Ironically, Bosie ends up behaving like his resentful father (the Marquess of Queensberry) and the legal feuds (he often overlooked that society had not forgotten the Wilde affair) ensures the steady dwindling of family fortunes. Ever since Wilde's trial, Bosie repeats the same pattern- suing, being sued, bankruptcy, imprisonment and sabotaging his prospects. At Wormwood Scrubs, he realises the extent of Wilde's misery during incarceration and writes a fine poetic work. He emerges humbled and broken, reminiscing about his youth and with very few friends (he often couldn't fathom the desertion by his friends): a pitiful poverty-stricken shadow of that exuberant and arrogant man for whom the world used to be an oyster. Yet, one can see the generous and extravagant altruist who helped those who approached him, and who was repeatedly cheated and taken advantage of.
The strength and validity of Douglas Murray's non-judgemental research presents a different view of that golden boy's comparatively longer post-Wilde years of litigation, prison, slander, illness and tragedy, constantly haunted by his relationship with Wilde, no matter how much he tried to cleanse himself from his past (renouncing his youth, converting to Catholicism, marrying poetess Olive Custance and starting a family). Murray's first work written during his gap year after Eton (interestingly, he also ends up reading English at Magdalen but has now ventured into political writing) is promising and scholarly and makes me wish that he had published it earlier whilst I was writing my essay on Oscar Wilde for my A-levels!
Bosie is oft portrayed as a frivolous, insensitive young man whose actions lead to Wilde's incarceration and consequent poverty and demise. Born into an ancient, highly influential family stained by occurrences of self-destructive insanity, Bosie was a charming, intelligent and exceptionally handsome man- and unfortunately, snotty, unstable and quick tempered - one who was born with a silver spoon and uses it detrimentally in the wild rage of someone who has everything and has nothing to lose. As a poet (Murray provides snippets of Douglas' poetry) and an editor, his tactlessness aided in creating enemies, often by trusting people too much. Ironically, Bosie ends up behaving like his resentful father (the Marquess of Queensberry) and the legal feuds (he often overlooked that society had not forgotten the Wilde affair) ensures the steady dwindling of family fortunes. Ever since Wilde's trial, Bosie repeats the same pattern- suing, being sued, bankruptcy, imprisonment and sabotaging his prospects. At Wormwood Scrubs, he realises the extent of Wilde's misery during incarceration and writes a fine poetic work. He emerges humbled and broken, reminiscing about his youth and with very few friends (he often couldn't fathom the desertion by his friends): a pitiful poverty-stricken shadow of that exuberant and arrogant man for whom the world used to be an oyster. Yet, one can see the generous and extravagant altruist who helped those who approached him, and who was repeatedly cheated and taken advantage of.
The strength and validity of Douglas Murray's non-judgemental research presents a different view of that golden boy's comparatively longer post-Wilde years of litigation, prison, slander, illness and tragedy, constantly haunted by his relationship with Wilde, no matter how much he tried to cleanse himself from his past (renouncing his youth, converting to Catholicism, marrying poetess Olive Custance and starting a family). Murray's first work written during his gap year after Eton (interestingly, he also ends up reading English at Magdalen but has now ventured into political writing) is promising and scholarly and makes me wish that he had published it earlier whilst I was writing my essay on Oscar Wilde for my A-levels!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Being someone who isn't particularly keen on reading biographies, I was surprised at how my attention was captured by this well-written book on the largely forgotten life of Lord Alfred Douglas (Bosie), the famous lover of Oscar Wilde. Employing a language devoid of ostentatious frills, Douglas Murray's mainly chronological analysis is based on reliable manuscripts, diaries and letters.
Bosie is oft portrayed as a frivolous, insensitive young man whose actions lead to Wilde's incarceration and consequent poverty and demise. Born into an ancient, highly influential family stained by occurrences of self-destructive insanity, Bosie was a charming, intelligent and exceptionally handsome man- and unfortunately, snotty, unstable and quick tempered - one who was born with a silver spoon and uses it detrimentally in the wild rage of someone who has everything and has nothing to lose. As a poet (Murray provides snippets of Douglas' poetry) and an editor, his tactlessness aided in creating enemies, often by trusting people too much. Ironically, Bosie ends up behaving like his resentful father (the Marquess of Queensberry) and the legal feuds (he often overlooked that society had not forgotten the Wilde affair) ensures the steady dwindling of family fortunes. Ever since Wilde's trial, Bosie repeats the same pattern- suing, being sued, bankruptcy, imprisonment and sabotaging his prospects. At Wormwood Scrubs, he realises the extent of Wilde's misery during incarceration and writes a fine poetic work. He emerges humbled and broken, reminiscing about his youth and with very few friends (he often couldn't fathom the desertion by his friends): a pitiful poverty-stricken shadow of that exuberant and arrogant man for whom the world used to be an oyster. Yet, one can see the generous and extravagant altruist who helped those who approached him, and who was repeatedly cheated and taken advantage of.
The strength and validity of Douglas Murray's non-judgemental research presents a different view of that golden boy's comparatively longer post-Wilde years of litigation, prison, slander, illness and tragedy, constantly haunted by his relationship with Wilde, no matter how much he tried to cleanse himself from his past (renouncing his youth, converting to Catholicism, marrying poetess Olive Custance and starting a family). Murray's first work written during his gap year after Eton (interestingly, he also ends up reading English at Magdalen but has now ventured into political writing) is promising and scholarly and makes me wish that he had published it earlier whilst I was writing my essay on Oscar Wilde for my A-levels!
Bosie is oft portrayed as a frivolous, insensitive young man whose actions lead to Wilde's incarceration and consequent poverty and demise. Born into an ancient, highly influential family stained by occurrences of self-destructive insanity, Bosie was a charming, intelligent and exceptionally handsome man- and unfortunately, snotty, unstable and quick tempered - one who was born with a silver spoon and uses it detrimentally in the wild rage of someone who has everything and has nothing to lose. As a poet (Murray provides snippets of Douglas' poetry) and an editor, his tactlessness aided in creating enemies, often by trusting people too much. Ironically, Bosie ends up behaving like his resentful father (the Marquess of Queensberry) and the legal feuds (he often overlooked that society had not forgotten the Wilde affair) ensures the steady dwindling of family fortunes. Ever since Wilde's trial, Bosie repeats the same pattern- suing, being sued, bankruptcy, imprisonment and sabotaging his prospects. At Wormwood Scrubs, he realises the extent of Wilde's misery during incarceration and writes a fine poetic work. He emerges humbled and broken, reminiscing about his youth and with very few friends (he often couldn't fathom the desertion by his friends): a pitiful poverty-stricken shadow of that exuberant and arrogant man for whom the world used to be an oyster. Yet, one can see the generous and extravagant altruist who helped those who approached him, and who was repeatedly cheated and taken advantage of.
The strength and validity of Douglas Murray's non-judgemental research presents a different view of that golden boy's comparatively longer post-Wilde years of litigation, prison, slander, illness and tragedy, constantly haunted by his relationship with Wilde, no matter how much he tried to cleanse himself from his past (renouncing his youth, converting to Catholicism, marrying poetess Olive Custance and starting a family). Murray's first work written during his gap year after Eton (interestingly, he also ends up reading English at Magdalen but has now ventured into political writing) is promising and scholarly and makes me wish that he had published it earlier whilst I was writing my essay on Oscar Wilde for my A-levels!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Boring stuff.
This was a hard book to get into. It was sent to me for reviewing, but in all honesty, it was a nightmare. Chapters simply rambled on without any cohesion. Read more
Published on 15 Feb 2010 by Cormac Mac
Review of Bosie
Perfectly good condition second hand volume. Written with good research and an unemotional approach to an interesting historical and literary figure.
Published on 10 Oct 2009 by Dancey87
Geting to know Bosie
I have been interested in Oscar wilde since i read a biography by Montgomery Hyde but I never took much interest in Lord Alfred Douglas. Read more
Published on 29 Sep 2007 by woodpecker
Douglas Murray: The name of love spake
Truly blissful reading, enabling you to feel as though you knew the poet through a scholarly and intimate examination of a boy and man plagued by family traits, desires, trials and... Read more
Published on 20 Aug 2005 by I W M Stirling
Rather disappointing
I found this book rather disappointing, though it is a major achievement for somebody of only 20. Murray's initial chapters are exceptionally confusing and very difficult to... Read more
Published on 30 July 2001
superb, honest account, very well written
Murray offers an insight into Bosie the man and the poet. He cites a plethora of informative letters from, to and about Bosie which reaveal his true personality. Read more
Published on 19 Jun 2000 by kezlah@aol.com
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