The Life of Oscar Wilde (Classic Non-fiction)

Rating:
Summary: Comprehensive, sympathetic, authoritative.
Review: This is the book that helped resurrect the reputation of one of the most tragic figures in English literature. When this book was originally published, Wilde was nowhere near the iconic figure he is now accepted as. Dying in poverty and disgrace in 1900 in Paris, (where all "bad" Englishmen went in the 19th century!) Wilde was still anathema to the "Establishment" for close to a half century afterward. Today, a bust stands in Westminster Abbey, and Hesketh Pearson's biography can claim a good measure of the credit for it. Comprehensive, detailed and sympathetic without being hagiographic, this book is essential to understanding the enigmatic genius of Oscar Wilde.