The Secret Life of Oscar Wilde : An Intimate Biography (export e.)

A fascinating and revealing insight into the troubled world of a literary genius Oscar Wilde said of himself, "I put all my genius into my life; I put only my talent into my works." Now, for the first time, Neil McKenna focuses on the tormented genius of Wilde's personal life, reproducing remarkable love letters and detailing Wilde's until-now unknown relationships with other men.

McKenna has spent years researching Wilde's life, drawing on extensive new material, including never-before published poems and other writings.

He also quotes from recently discovered trial statements made by male prostitutes and blackmailers about Wilde.

McKenna provides explosive evidence of the political machinations behind Wilde's trials for sodomy, as well as his central role in the burgeoning gay world of Victorian London.

Dazzlingly written and meticulously researched, The Secret Life of Oscar Wilde fully charts Wilde's astonishing odyssey through London's sexual underworld and paints a frank and vivid psychological portrait of a troubled genius.