Oscar Wilde

remarkable well written book. it tells you about his roots in ireland and his family. his education at trinity college in dublin, ireland and his education at oxford university in england. he had a lot of friends. some of his friends were famous. he even got married and had two children by his wife. he knew that he was gay. he feel in love with a Lord's son which prove to be his downfall. he went to prison for about two years in england, he had to due hard labor. he exile himself to italy after being incarcerate. his wife changed her last name. a plus before he ever had this horrible scandal, he did a tour of the united states and was well received. he even met walt whitman. their are interesting picture in the book. worth reading. it is intriguing

Richard Ellman’s biography is perfect.The prose stule is a work of thorough research, whichcontains Wilde’s brilliant examples of humor and genius combined with his tragic confusion betweenhis martyrdom in an English court into which be was tricked into defending himself with Bosie Douglasand the Puritan remnants permeating English courtsvs. going ( some may refer to fleeing) any Latin country FIRST and letting his work speak for itself!

A lot of information. A lot of details. Interesting but a bit overdone

This book will tear your heart. The infamy of his prosecution, and persecution, is beyond words. He never savaged his detractors as they did him, primarily the execrable egotist, the tiny little man named Whistler but also Swinburne, so cowardly yet such an unforgettable poet. But at least Swinburne had an excuse since he was psychologically damaged.How many benefitted from his help or encouragement in his glory days, yet figuratively spat at him when a maniac (the Marquess of Queensberry) pursued him to his destruction.His magnificent Biblical drama Salome and the poems inspired by his prison stay will not be forgotten. Nor will Dorian Grey, the ultimate in the tracing of a descent into unspeakable depths.And somewhere down there in those depths can be discerned the ridiculous yet hideous spirit of Alfred Douglas, a man whose existence was totally pointless.Among the numberless acquaintances of this tragic figure I must pay tribute to Nellie Melba, rarely described as warm-hearted, but it was she who emptied her purse for him on a Paris street when, threadbare and penniless, he was forced to ask for money.That powerfully descriptive phrase "emptied her purse" is straight from the book, just one of many memorable phrases that make the history live for the reader.I believe there never was and never will be a superior biography of Oscar Wilde.

A real door-stop at 600 pages of 7-point type, but you'll want to read every word of it. It's a triumph of loving research. I would describe Ellmann's prose as more workmanlike than entertaining, but that's perfectly OK, because Oscar's life was so amazing that any biographer's vanity would only get in the way. If you have any humanity at all, you'll finish this book having fallen in love with Oscar and identifying with him. You will hate his persecutors, tormenters, and deserters, and especially you will loathe the rot and ugliness of class. You will finally feel drained, crushed, and utterly devastated. But you will come away wiser and strangely more sympathetic and loving toward all humans, as Oscar was, not because they are lovable, but because you happen to be one.

Here's some background; Richard Ellmann's "Oscar Wilde," was my personal selection for reading in the now infamous DFW Literary Society's book club. As such, I kind of felt a extra bit of attachment and responsibility to how the book reached and found others. Up front, the biographical parts of Oscar Wilde's life were very interesting and engaging. The parts were Ellmann delves into literary criticism, not so much.I've always found literary lives and artistic souls quite interesting and entertaining. What I had hoped to get out of Ellmann's "Oscar" was something akin to this deliciously entertaining book: John Steinbeck, Writer: A Biography, but alas, it read closer to this: Lives of the Poets. "Lives of the Poets," is one that you don't want to tackle unless you really like poetry. It's not an easy read. Neither is "Oscar." Ellmann keeps the readers attention rapt when he engages in the details of Wilde's life and the brilliant candle he was early on and the train wreck of a life he seemed to seek out. It was almost like watching a reality show on Anna Nicole Smith except Wilde was talented, smart, witty, had something to say. They both very much liked men though and had campy tastes so the similarities are there.Reading through "Oscar Wilde" will leave the most loquacious and eloquent speech-i-fiers reaching for a dictionary on most each and every page. There are some top dollar word choices in Ellmann's book which makes me think he developed a way to talk and communicate over the years that only reached a select set of University professorial readers. If you are an English PhD you will know doubt want to rank Ellman's "Wilde" with a Wildean excess of stars: five I'm thinking.So our book club read, "Oscar Wilde" to the bitter end and we held a trial replete with judge, juror, prosecution, and defense. We put on trial again our dear Oscar and held him up to modern societal standards and found on the whole...3 votes against liking Oscar, 0 on his behalf. As you will read, should you dare try to crack open this book, Oscar was not so much into the responsibilites of life or working for a living or taking an egalatarian view of others--Oscar lived for the aesthetic beauty and was into style and wit and causing a scene. In many ways he was a large part of killing off the Victorian era through his aesthetic movement and connection to the decadents. See now I've lost you when I start throwing out high falutin' literary terms. I should have stuck to Oscar's life as should have Ellman. It's far more intersting.Cut the book to half the size and focus on the drama and meaning behind Oscar's short time on this earth and to me Ellmann would have had one dandy of a book. As it is, you'll be able to tackle 10 pages at a time until Ellmann starts addressing Oscar's life. Not recommended as a book club read but do hold a mock trial for Oscar and dress up like dandies and bring flowers. That's all the rage--not Ellmann's "Oscar Wilde," so much.

Enjoyed this bio. Have always wanted to read about him in more detail. This certainly goes into detail about every aspect of his life. It was well written and kept my interest. Oxford at that time was certainly different! Lots of quotes and poems and interesting facts about artists and academics. The writing was so small I almost needed stronger glasses - this is my only criticism but I should have checked first!

Great!