The Unmasking of Oscar Wilde - Softcover

Pearce, Joseph

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1621640590 ISBN 13: 9781621640592

Publisher: Ignatius Pr, 2015

Synopsis

Vilified by fellow Victorians for his sexuality and his dandyism, Oscar Wilde, the great poet, satirist and playwright, is hailed today, in some circles, as a "progressive" sexual liberator. But this is not how Wilde saw himself. His actions and pretensions did not bring him happiness and fulfillment. This study of Wilde's brilliant and tragic life goes beyond the mistakes that brought him notoriety in order to explore this emotional and spiritual search.

Unlike any other biography of Wilde, it strips away these pretensions to show the real man, his aspirations and desires. It uncovers how he was broken by his two-year prison sentence; it probes the deeper thinking behind masterpieces such as The Picture of Dorian Gray, Salome, "The Ballad of Reading Gaol" and "De Profundis"; and it traces his fascination with Catholicism through to his eleventh-hour conversion.

Published on the 150th anniversary of his birth, this biography removes the masks which have confused previous biographers and reveals the real Wilde beneath the surface. Once again, Joseph Pearce has written a profound, wide-ranging study with many original insights on a great literary figure.

About this title

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.

About the Author:

Joseph Pearce, director of the Aquinas Center for Faith and Culture at Aquinas College in Nashville, is the author of three books on Shakespeare, all published by Ignatius Press, and is the editor of the Ignatius Critical Editions of Romeo and Juliet, The Merchant of Venice, Julius Caesar, Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth. He is editor of the St. Austin Review (or StAR), a magazine of Christian culture and tradition published by St. Augustine's Press.

About this edition

• Publisher: Ignatius Pr
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1621640590
• ISBN 13: 9781621640592
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 412