Oscar Wilde, the great drama of his life : how his tragedy reflected his personality / Ashley H. Robins.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Robins, Ashley H.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Wilde, Oscar, 1854-1900.

Wilde, Oscar.

Wilde, Oscar, 1854-1900--Health.

Wilde, Oscar, 1854-1900--Imprisonment.

Wilde, Oscar, 1854-1900--Relations with men.

Wilde, Oscar, 1854-1900--Trials, litigation, etc.

Queensberry, John Sholto Douglas, Marquis of, 1844-1900--Trials, litigation, etc.

Queensberry, John Sholto Douglas.

Queensberry, John Sholto Douglas, Marquis of, 1844-1900.

Relations with men.

Imprisonment.

Health.

Great Britain--Social life and customs--19th century.

Great Britain.

Manners and customs.

Authors, Irish--19th century--Biography.

Authors, Irish.

Gay men--Great Britain--Biography.

Gay men.

Genre:

Biographies.

Trials, litigation, etc.

Trial and arbitral proceedings.

Physical Description:

xi, 264 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Brighton [England] ; Portland, Or. : Sussex Academic Press, 2011.

Summary:

Robins is a psychiatrist, and for decades taught clinical pharmacology and psychiatry at the U. of Cape Town in South Africa. He brings this specialization to his analysis of Oscar Wilde's life--the book does not intend an literary analysis of his writings--based on exhaustive study of Wilde's personal correspondence, the letters and lives of his wife and friends, official documents chronicling his confrontations with the law over charges of homosexuality, his time in prison, and Wilde's prison memoir De Profundis. He focuses in particular on the official documentation regarding Wilde's health and mental health, which is discussed in detail. Marshalling all the evidence, Robins concludes with a lengthy chapter offering his psychiatric prognosis of this popular, larger-than-life, and influential figure. Distributed in the US by ISBS. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Contents:

"Pursued by a pugilist of unsound mind"

In durance vile : Pentonville

Haldane and Morrison vs. the home secretary

The battle of reading gaol

"Passing from one prison into another"

The vexatious domestic saga

The great syphilis debate

The precipitous road to homosexual law reform

Gay superstar but not martyr

Oscar as others saw him

Relationships with family and friends

Histrionic personality disorder

The last words.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781845194345

1845194349

OCLC:

630453657