and marriage to Constance 301, 331
and the Queensberry libel trial 542, 592, 593, 594
and release from prison 619–20, 621–3
and trial 566–7
and the French language 274–5, 434, 437
funeral 714–15
in Greece 102–6
health 268, 387, 416, 467, 468
and alcohol consumption 696
ear infection 488, 565, 607, 707–8, 709–13
in exile 682, 700
in prison 591–2, 593, 598–9, 605–7, 608–9
imprisonment 588–624
access to books 590, 591, 597, 603, 604, 610
appears at the bankruptcy court 600–1
and children in prison 623, 630
French reaction to 595
Pentonville Prison 587–92
pity for other inmates 612–13
post-release plans 618–19
press interest in 590
public interest in 589
Reading Prison 600, 601, 602–24
release from prison 623–4, 627
Wandsworth Prison 592–600
and Irish nationalism 136–7, 168, 239–40
lectures
on Chatterton 337–8
Dublin’s Alexandra College 112, 116
lecture tour of Britain 289–92, 299, 301–2, 303–4, 313–16
Royal Academy Schools 288–9
tour of Britain 289–92, 297–8, 299, 301–2, 303–4, 313–16, 325
US lecture tour 192–4, 199–261
literary reputation 717–20
in London
fundraising activities 152–3
hansom cab habit 409
parodies, satires and caricatures of 160–4, 170–3
resentful attitudes towards 174–5
and the Marquis of Queensberry
accused of criminal libel 540–8, 549–58
campaign against OW 505–6, 507–11, 522, 523, 533, 536, 536–8
marriage to Constance Lloyd
birth of sons 330–1
decoration of Tite Street house 316–19
engagement 299–303
financial settlements 301, 312, 349
honeymoon 308–11
job applications 331
letter to 315
wedding 305–7
nicknames 32, 79
parents’ background 4–12
parodies of 160–2, 164, 173–4, 499–500
poems see poetry
political interests 358–62, 409–11
Irish Home Rule 358–9, 360, 362
socialism 360–2, 410–11
‘Postlethwaite’ persona 160–4, 172, 184
relations with brother 16–17, 29
reviews 325–30, 332
on Greek art 165
Grosvenor Gallery 113–15, 143, 177, 277
on Whistler’s lecture 323–4
romantic interests in women 93, 115, 131, 246–7
schooldays 19–23, 27–36, 38
gatherings in the Stone Hall 31–2
intelligence and academic abilities 21, 23, 26, 27, 29, 32–3
reading 29–30, 34
sexuality 30, 38, 191, 282–3, 336–7, 338–42, 371, 484–5, 644–5, 679–80
short stories 346–9, 405
suicidal thoughts 577–8, 667
theatrical projects 262–8, 272, 283–4
and toys 468
trial of 567–84
arrest 559–60, 563
bail granted 576–7
closing speeches 571–2
committal hearings 561–6
financial troubles 566–7
hostility and condemnation 563–4
imprisoned on remand 564–6, 574
jury unable to reach verdict 573–4
OW urged to flee abroad 578–9
OW’s evidence 569–71
and plays at London theatres 560, 566
retrial 575, 580–4
verdict and sentencing 583–4
witnesses for the prosecution 562–3, 567–9
university education see Oxford University; Trinity College Dublin
voice 139
‘way of being right’ 719–20
Woman’s World editorship 251–5, 360, 362, 366–7, 379, 380, 387
Wilde, Ralph (OW’s great-uncle) 54
Wilde, Rev. John 90
Wilde, Rev. Ralph 8
Wilde, Vyvyan 338–9, 516, 520, 561, 566, 650, 681
Wilde, William (OW’s father), later Sir William 4–8, 211
antiquarian interests 6–7, 8, 24–5
appearance 5
The Beauties of the Boyne and the Blackwater 8, 11
and the Catholic Church 52–3
character 11–12
death 86–8
declining health 84
as a father 13, 14, 16
house-building 14–15
illegitimate daughters 8, 49
Irish Popular Superstitions 11
and Isola’s death 25
knighthood 18
The Last Years of Dean Swift’s Life 8
Madeira 6, 8
marriage 11
and the Mary Travers case 22–3
medical career 6, 7–8, 11, 12, 13, 18
and Moytura 16, 18, 24–5
and OW at Trinity College Dublin 54
will 87
Wilde, William (‘Willie’, OW’s brother) 76–7, 369, 487
appearance 28–9, 76
at Moytura 74–5
at Trinity College Dublin 31, 36, 37, 38, 41, 47, 51
birth and naming of 4, 12
career 76, 116
journalism 130–1, 143, 328–9
childhood 13–14, 16–17
death 694
and death of father 86, 87
leaves for England 93–4
marriages
Lily Lees 505
Mrs Frank Leslie 425–6, 451
and Merrion Square 116
and OW at Oxford 112, 128
and OW in London 137, 143–4, 146–7, 173, 175
and OW in Paris 285
and OW’s marriage 300, 302, 307
and OW’s trial 578
poetry 76
reputation 76–7
schooldays 21–2, 23, 26, 28–9, 31
Wildy, Mr 593
Wilkinson, Louis 690, 700
Willets, Marian 121
Wills, Justice 580, 581–2, 583–4
Wills, W.G. 142, 143, 147
Melchior 328
Wilson, Henry 8, 14, 87, 115–16, 124
Wilton house party 420, 422–3
Winckelmann, Johann 82
Windt, Harry de 656
A Woman of No Importance (formerly Mrs Arbuthnot (Wilde) 456–7, 466, 473, 476, 477–9, 481, 489, 701
press response to 478–9
Woman’s World magazine 251–5, 360, 362, 366–7, 379, 380, 387
women
and OW in London 145–50, 156–7
OW’s attractiveness to 175
and OW’s ‘Beauty Parties’ 121, 145–6
OW’s friendships with 367–9
Wood, Alfred 469, 473–4, 546, 547, 550, 552, 556
and OW’s trial 562, 568, 571, 572, 581, 583
Woodberry, George E. 249
Wooldridge, Charles Thomas 608, 637–8, 661, 664
Wordsworth, William 3, 9, 277, 634
the World 131, 143–4, 160, 165, 175, 178, 182, 274, 297, 358, 478–9
on OW’s American lecture tour 195, 196
on OW’s articles 384
on OW’s British lecture tour 291
on OW’s fairy tales 364
on OW’s Poems 184–5, 186, 241
OW’s short stories 348
Worthing (South Coast town) 122, 515–17, 561
Wratislaw, Theodore 487, 642
Wrest Park house party 420, 423
Wyndham, Charles 526, 639, 640, 646, 702
Wyndham, George 420, 422,
508, 561, 563
Yates, Edmund 131, 143–4, 175, 182, 229
Yeats, John Butler 10
Yeats, W.B. 356–7, 370, 375, 380, 580
Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry 360
The Yellow Book 500, 503, 564, 641–2
Yonge, Charlotte M., The Heir of Redclyffe 250
Young, Dalhousie 632, 648, 652, 710
Young Ireland movement 9–10, 17
‘The Young King’ 365–6
Young, Mrs Dalhousie 684
Zambaco, Maria Cassavetti 276–7
Zola, Émile 374, 403, 416–17
and the Dreyfus affair 677, 678–9
and OW’s imprisonment 604
About Matthew Sturgis
MATTHEW STURGIS is a writer with a deep knowledge of the late Victorian cultural world. He is the author of acclaimed biographies of Aubrey Beardsley and Walter Sickert, as well as Passionate Attitudes: The English Decadence of the 1890s. He has contributed book reviews to the TLS, art criticism to Harpers & Queen and football reports to the Independent on Sunday. Matthew is on the editorial board of The Wildean, the journal of the Oscar Wilde Society.
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This is an Apollo book, first pub-lished in the United Kingdom in 2018 by Head of Zeus Ltd
Copyright © Matthew Sturgis, 2018
The moral right of Matthew Sturgis to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmit-ted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
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A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN (E) 9781788545969
ISBN (HB) 9781788545976
Cover: Oscar Wilde, 1889, W. & D. Downey; colourised image © Marina Amaral
Author photo: © Garlinda Birk-beck
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