The Unmasking of Oscar Wilde - Hardcover

Pearce, Joseph

4.24

162 ratings by Goodreads

9780002740425: The Unmasking of Oscar Wilde

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0002740427 ISBN 13: 9780002740425

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2000

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A powerful – and controversial – study of the brilliant and tragic life of Oscar Wilde, and his lifelong spiritual search.

The great poet, satirist and playwright, Oscar Wilde, is as misunderstood today as he was in his own time...

Vilified by fellow Victorians for his sexuality and his dandyism, these days he is hailed as a progressive sexual liberator. But this is not how Wilde saw himself. His actions and pretences did not bring him happiness and fulfilment: his art did. This is where Pearce’s search for the man behind the masks begins.

This powerful new study of Wilde’s brilliant and tragic life is published on the Centenary of his death. Rather than lingering on the mistakes which brought him notoriety, it explores follows the emotional and spiritual search of this fascinating literary figure.

It uncovers how his ‘heart of stone’ was broken by his two-year prison sentence; it probes the deeper thinking behind masterpieces such as ‘The Ballad of Reading Gaol’ and ‘De Profundis’; and it traces his fascination with Catholicism through to his eleventh-hour conversion.

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From the Back Cover:

'"You know what my Art was to me, the great primal note by which I had revealed first myself to myself an then myself to the world."'

'"Truth is independent of fact always."'

'"Anarchy ... Freedom's own Judas, the vile prodigal ... Licence who steals the gold of liberty."'

The great poet, satirist and playwright, Oscar Wilde, is as misunderstood today as he was in his own time. Vilified and persecuted by fellow Victorians for his sexuality and his dandyism, these days he hailed as a progressive sexual liberator.

Yet this not how Wilde saw himself. His actions and his pretences did not bring him happiness and fulfilment: his art did. And this is where Pearce's search for the man behind the masks is centred.

This powerful and controversial new study if wilde's brilliant and tragic life is published on the Centenary of his death. Rather than lingering on the mistakes which brought him notoriety, it explores the emotional and spiritual search of this fascinating and complex literary figure.

'The Unmasking of Oscar Wilde' uncovers how his 'heart of stone' was broken by the two-year prison sentence and probes the deeper thinking behind the masterpieces of his novel, plays, short stories and poetry. It includes discussion of 'The Ballad of Reading Gaol' and the posthumously published, 'De Profoundis' and also traces his love affair with the church.

Synopsis:

Vilified by fellow Victorians for his sexuality and his dandyism, in the 1990s, Oscar Wilde is hailed as a progressive sexual liberator. But this is not how Wilde saw himself. His actions and pretences did not bring him happiness and fulfilment: his art did. This study of Wilde's brilliant and tragic life does not linger on the mistakes which brought him notoriety, rather, it explores his emotional and spiritual search. It uncovers how he was broken by his two-year prison sentence; it probes the deeper thinking behind masterpieces such as "The Ballad of Reading Gaol" and "De Profundis"; and it traces his fascination with Catholicism through to his eleventh-hour conversion.

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