Book description
Neil McKenna argues that our view of Oscar Wilde, even after Ellman's
magisterial biography of the great author and playwright, is determined
by Victorian sentimentality. In his own much more modern version of
Wilde's story, McKenna portrays the literary genius as being not only
extremely promiscuous but also a sort of campaigner for sexual freedom.
He reveals, for example, that Wilde's relationship with Lord Alfred
Douglas, which provided the inspiration for the classic novel
The Picture of Dorian Gray,
was not an idealistic doting on a beautiful boy, but that Lord Douglas
was the more dominant and experienced of the pair, who used to go out
hunting together for young boys. Wilde's last days in Paris were not,
McKenna shows, miserable and defeated; Paris was for him an idyllic,
sensual and intellectual playground free from the narrowness of London.
A groundbreaking book on Victorian sexuality, this unique biography
reassesses the stereotypical views of Oscar Wilde and thoroughly
embraces his sexuality, as Wilde did himself. Neil McKenna
is a freelance journalist, particularly for the Guardian
and the Independent
and a freelance producer and researcher for Channel 4. He is a notable
campaigner for gay rights - the Clause 24 debate being largely a result
of his work.
