Irish Peacock and Scarlet Marquess: The Real Trial of Oscar Wilde (Hardcover)

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Review
PRAISE FOR THE COMPLETE LETTERS OF OSCAR WILDE: "The scholarship of Holland and Hart-Davis is as impeccable as their subject's wit, while the letters themselves bear comparison with any more conventional form of literary art." Times Literary Supplement "Meticulousy edited, intelligently annotated, the letters were a biographer's dream." Irish Times "These letters give us the human side of Wilde's legend and its human cost." Observer "The most comprehensive collection yet of Wilde's correspondence, charting his development from ambitious young man about town to literary dandy and tortured outcast" Guardian "To have the full weight of his letters published is almost like living his life with him...one puts down the letters heavy with mixed emotions - admiration, sorrow and exasperation." Daily Mail "Even those who know it well will once more fall under the spell of Wilde's charmed words as he sings his way to oblivion. This is a marvellous volume, fully worthy of Wilde's own genius." The Times "Oscar Wilde writes his own life in the newly revised and expanded Complete Letters. The one essential book on the subject." The Independent Books of the Year

The tribulations of Oscar Wilde are already well known, and now from the great man's grandson we get one of his trials as well. Merlin Holland never knew his grandfather in life but as a boy he was aware of a family scandal that must only be talked about in cyphered ways. It was not until the age of 15, while rummaging through a cupboard, that he discovered a secret file full of press cuttings amassed by his father Vyvyan, Oscar's son. The files related to prosecutions of homosexuals, and the public's attitude towards homosexuality as the sin it was then considered to be (in the late 1950s homosexual intercourse was still illegal). It may have been then also that Holland realized his grandfather had been at the centre of one of the 19th century's greatest celebrity scandals. For 40 years Holland has been researching the life of Oscar Wilde and has written three previous books about his grandfather. One of them, The Complete Letters, revealed much about Wilde's character as opposed to the persona he wanted the public to see. Now, in this latest book, Holland provides a complete court transcript of his grandfather's libel action against the Marquess of Queensberry - an action that was to prove Wilde's undoing and ultimately lead to the destruction of his reputation and, two court cases later, to his jailing. The transcript takes up virtually the entire book and it says far more about Victorian prejudices than can any potted history. It also reveals flashes of Wilde's suaveness and wit, and exposes his shocking extravagances. Wilde's infatuation for Lord Alfred 'Bosie' Douglas had never been doubted - but the Marquess of Queensberry dared to suggest their relationship went beyond what was decent. Hence the libel action. Holland admits that bringing the action proved to be his grandfather's greatest misjudgement. As for our supposedly more enlightened times, Holland is dismissive. 'Little has changed over a century where fame, sex, pride and libel are shaken up into their intoxicating cocktail of human weakness,' he writes. His grandfather would no doubt have agreed, but perhaps more pithily. (Kirkus UK)

Julian Barnes, Guardian Books of the Year 2003
'A thrilling read'

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2 Reviews 5 star:  (1) 4 star:  (1) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 4.5 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   7 of 7 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Witnessing Wilde first hand, 15 Nov 2004 By  Last Goodbye "This is our Last Goodbye" (England) - See all my reviews While reading this book you follow Oscar through the worst period of his life, in court, denying his identity. It feels like you're there in the courtroom with him, watching the terrible events unfold. You can feel the trial slipping away in Queensberry's favour, and truth be told it makes for quite painful reading. It's wonderful to hear Oscar still making people laugh, even under cross-examination from an old college fellow - he said Edward Carson would "pursue his case with all the added bitterness of an old friend" and he was right. Oscar's sharp witticisms are often a light relief from the darkness that covers the trial. If you are interested in Wilde then this is essential reading. It's an inescapable part of his life, and this is, without a doubt, the best account you will get of it. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   1 of 1 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars An incredible document, 5 April 2007 By  Doll Common (Cambridge, UK) - See all my reviews This review is from: Irish Peacock and Scarlet Marquess: The Real Trial of Oscar Wilde (Paperback) This is really one of a kind - the transcript of one of history's most famous and most scandalous trials. Reading the details and transcripts of Wilde's trial is a strange and intriguing experience. The reader becomes totally involved in the already-decided fate of Wilde; one moment entertained and laughing at Wilde's unique aphorisms and put-downs, the next heart-wrenchingly appalled at the futility of such remarks in the face of his ever-increasingly inevitable fate. It is interesting to note, for example, that although Wilde has been adopted as a gay hero, he is unwaveringly adamant in his denial of his own homosexuality - a harsh and sad reflection of the ignorance of the times. At once a historical document (the repetition of the charge of 'sodomy' for example is due to the fact that the term 'homosexuality' did not exist at this point, and Wilde's trial was one factor in its appearance in the English language), and an emotionally gripping novel-like journey, this text is compulsive reading. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this) Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review › See all 2 customer reviews...		Ad feedback   Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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