- Unknown Binding
- Publisher: Hamish Hamilton; First Reprinted edition (1987)
- ASIN: B002KDQ9TG
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
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First Sentence
Oscar Wilde first emerges for us into articulate being in 1868, when he was thirteen, in a letter he wrote to his mother from school. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Oscar Wilde first emerges for us into articulate being in 1868, when he was thirteen, in a letter he wrote to his mother from school. Read the first page
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Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is wonderful, in every aspect; one that genuinely deserves its 5 star rating. Ellmann has written a biography that must make other biographers jealous, as I've never read one that comes close to this in terms of depth, honesty and breadth of knowledge. I've been reading Wilde for years and thought I knew a lot about him; yet there are details in here about his life that I knew nothing about. It's like discovering Oscar Wilde all over again.
One of the things that makes this book so powerful is the tremendous feeling of empathy you get for Wilde from Ellmann. Reading the tragic episodes that constitiuted Wilde's life and death is often painful, especially towards the end.
But it's not all about the life that most people remember him for these days - sometimes we forget that Oscar had a successful career as a journalist and lecturer on both sides of the Atlantic, and learning about his days at Oxford, to his American tour, to his fame in London with his social life is an absolute pleasure. Understanding his notoriety and reputation of this period, and how he enjoyed it and played with the press, is wonderful.
If you would like to discover or rediscover a truly great man, then I urge you to read this book.
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The scope, breadth, and insight of this book are extraordinary. This is 180 degrees from the masses of shallow, flashy celebrity biographies. This book is hardly a quick read -Ellmann explores every facet of his subject with amazing depth- and the result is a sometimes hilarious, sometimes sad book. --Suky
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Of all the books written on Oscar Wilde, this is the only work that matches the genius and generosity of the subject. This book works in many layers and is sometimes overwhelming in its breadth. You may find that it will spoil your appetite for other biographies you may read in the future - for it will take a lot to come close to the bar set by Professor Ellmann.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A gigantic achievement
As someone who loves biographies and has read dozens of them, I can say - hand on heart - that this is the best I've ever read. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Andreas Stavros
a full book and well written
A thoroughly enjoyable biography about this great and extraordinary personality. Packed full of interesting facts as well as photographs this is a full resume of a life that still... Read more
Published on 2 Dec 2009 by inch worm
Extremely intellectual, too much for me!!!
I was looking forward to reading this book with great anticipation solely because of the other reviews, which praised it highly. Read more
Published on 27 Aug 2009 by W. R. Robinson
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