The Irish Writers: Oscar Wilde: A Biography

The Dublin-born dramatist, essayist, poet and novelist, Oscar Fingal OFlahertie Wills Wilde\r\n(1854-1900), was as unconventional as he was brilliant. He studied at Trinity\r\nCollege, Dublin and at Magdalen College, Oxford, displaying an outstanding\r\nmind, a sharp wit and a contempt for conformity. He became an advocate of the\r\ndoctrine of art for arts sake and courted controversy with his flamboyant and\r\ndecadent public image. Celebrated for his wit and pathos, Wilde today is perhaps best\r\nknown for his play The Importance of Being Earnest.\r\n\r\n\r\nHis conviction and imprisonment for homosexuality was the\r\nbeginning of a slow physical decline that eventually brought about his death in\r\n1900. Wilde left behind him a remarkable body of work. This exceptionally charismatic and talented\r\nman left an influence on our culture that has been immense.\r\n\r\n\r\nAuthor David Pritchard has written a highly readable, frank and sympathetic biography of\r\nthe cultural and literary legacy of one of the most paradoxical characters, and\r\none of the most brilliant intellects, of the nineteenth century.