In the 1890s Oscar Wilde enjoyed one of the most high-profile
reputations in Britain; yet, virtually overnight, he was plunged
into disgrace and ruin. What were the reasons for this
extraordinary reversal of fortune? Ashley Robins explores Wilde's
motivation in prosecuting the Marquess of Queensberry, and
elaborates on the precarious legal situation that effectively
quashed any prospect of a withdrawal from the lawsuit without dire
consequences. He examines the medical and psychiatric aspects of
Wilde's two-year imprisonment and reveals -- for the first time and
based on the original Home Office records -- the machinations among
prison officials and doctors to cover up Wilde's state of health.
Wilde's medical history is presented with an expert evaluation of
his terminal illness, including a resolution of the syphilis
controversy. Robins details Wilde's tangled matrimonial affairs
during his imprisonment and goes on to disclose the manoeuvres
adopted by friends to secure his early release, citing hitherto
unpublished letters to show that bribery of prison personnel was
seriously contemplated. The issue of homosexuality is discussed not
only in relation to Oscar Wilde but from the broader historical,
legal and biological perspective. The author portrays Wilde's
character and behaviour through the images he projected onto
society, by the strong but mixed public reaction to him, and by the
quality of his interpersonal relationships with his wife, family
and close friends. Finally, Wilde's personality is assessed using
internationally accepted diagnostic criteria; and, in an unusual
and innovative experiment, a group of Wildean scholars completed a
psychological questionnaire as if they were doing so for Oscar
Wilde himself. Drawing on these findings and on his own extensive
psychiatric experience, Ashley Robins concludes that Wilde had a
disorder of personality that culminated in the final and tragic
phase of his life.
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