Conversations with Wilde: A Fictional Dialogue Based on Biographical Facts (Conversations With, #3)

by Merlin Holland

Simon Callow (Foreword)

Renowned for his
memorable bons mots, Oscar Wilde cut a dashing figure in late Victorian London
... until his tragic downfall resulting from an ill-judged libel action. We
remember him not only for his famous trial and imprisonment, but also for a
"devil's dictionary" of timeless aphorisms and for the enduring brilliance of
plays such as The Importance of Being
Earnest.

Wilde's life resembles his early short story, "The Remarkable Rocket", which, rising from nowhere in a shower of sparks, explodes and falls to earth, exclaiming as it goes out, "I knew I should create a great sensation." Merlin Holland expertly traces the arc of his illustrious ancestor's life, from his birth in Dublin in 1854 as Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde, to a brilliant career at Oxford University where his reputation for dandyish wit was first honed, through to his conquest of the drawing rooms and theatres of fashionable London, culminating in disgrace and imprisonment at the hands of the Marquess of Queensberry in the most notorious libel trial in English history. Wilde died in penury and obscurity in 1900, yet his reputation today has never been greater.

This engaging and innovative short book features a concise biographical essay on Wilde's meteoric career, followed by a Q&A interview based on Wilde's own words and Merlin Holland's unrivalled knowledge of his grandfather's life, work and puckish observations.

This sparkling biography does full justice to Oscar Wilde's writerly genius and irrepressible humanity. It offers readers a renewed appreciation for a man who at times scadalised his own era as much as he delights ours.

• ISBN13: 9781786782380
• Publish Date: 11 June 2019
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Watkins Publishing
• Edition: New edition
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 128
• Language: English

Reviews

[Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub]

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this book, in exchange for my honest opinion. This book will be available to purchase on June 11th.

I was interested in this book for two reasons: First, I loved The Picture of Dorian Gray. Second, the idea of a fictional conversation with Wilde is fantastically original. The closest to that setup I’ve read is The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis, which I really enjoyed, and of course there’s no biographical angle with that.

This book was so much fun! Oscar Wilde was larger than life in many ways, which Holland conveyed with ease. During the course of this book, I realized that I knew far less about his life than I thought. Despite his levity, Oscar Wilde’s life was tragic in many ways.

What set this apart from many other biographies is the sense of fun the entire book had about itself. It really did feel like an interview over cigarettes. I would gladly read more books written in this style by this author.

At less than 200 pages, this books can easily be read in an afternoon, but the facts thrown in, combined with the engaging conversational feel will keep you thinking about it long after you finish the last word. I definitely recommend this fun fact-based fiction.