De Profundis and Other Prison Writings
'I have nothing to declare', Wilde once told an American customs official, 'except my genius'. This collection contains examples of that humorous and epigrammic genius which captured the London theatre and which, by suddenly casting light from an unexpected angle, widened the bou... read full description below.
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Full details for this title
| Interest Age |
All ages |
| Reading Age |
All ages |
| NBS Text |
Anthologies, Essays, Letters & Miscellaneous |
| ONIX Text |
General/trade |
|
| Number of Pages |
304 |
| Dimensions |
Width: 129mm
Height: 198mm
Spine: 17mm |
| Weight |
224g |
|
| Dewey Code |
828.809 |
| Catalogue Code |
Not specified |
Description of this Book
'I have nothing to declare', Wilde once told an American customs official, 'except my genius'. A good part of that genius is evident in the essays and poems included in this volume. There is the emotional genius of De Profundis , the long, introspective and often hostile letter he addressed to Lord Alfred Douglas from prison. And there is the poetical genius of The Ballad of Reading Gaol , in which Wilde's generous nature could movingly express for another's misery the sorrow he found it hard to express for his own. This collection contains, too, many examples of that humorous and epigrammic genius which captured the London theatre and which, by suddenly casting light from an unexpected angle, widened the bounds of truth.
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Awards & Reviews
| NZ Review |
'De Profundis' remains Wilde's greatest piece of prose-writing -- Colm Toibin |
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Author's Bio
Oscar Wilde was born in Dublin in 1854 and was educated in Dublin and Oxford. His three volumes of short fiction, The Happy Prince, Lord Arthur Savile's Crime and A House of Pomegranates, together with his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, won him a reputation as a modern writer with an original talent, a reputation confirmed and enhanced by the phenomenal success of his society comedies - Lady Windermere's Fan, A Woman of No Importance, An Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Earnest. Success, however, was short-lived. In 1891 Wilde had met and fallen extravagantly in love with Lord Alfred Douglas, and he was later sentenced to two years' imprisonment for acts of gross indecency. He was released from prison in 1897 and went into an immediate self-imposed exile on the continent. Wilde died in Paris in ignominy in 1900. Colm Toibin is the author of five novels, including The Blackwater Lightship and The Master, and a collection of stories, Mothers and Sons. His essay collection Love in a Dark Time: Gay Lives from Wilde to Almodovar appeared in 2002. His work has been translated into twenty-five languages. He is the editor of The Penguin Book of Irish Fiction.
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