Ireland has produced some of the most eminent authors in the English language, from Yeats to James Joyce. While the literary merits of Irish authors versus others can be a matter of debate, what is not a matter of debate is that most celebrated wits in the English language have been Irish. I don't think anyone else compares to GB Shaw and Oscar Wilde.
I have been a fan of Oscar Wilde's ever since I read The Picture of Dorian Gray and then all the more after reading his comedies including the exceptional The importance of being Earnest. So much so that I made a point of visiting the Pere Lachaise Cemetery, where he is buried, on my first visit to Paris.
Oscar Wilde had an aristocratic Irish upbringing, followed by a typical aristocratic English youth. That meant a degree from Oxford , trips to Paris and a lecture tour of America. Even before he found fame for his writing he found fame for being Oscar Wilde. He was a society fixture, like a 19th Century Orry.
However, what he was also known for then and to a large extent in posterity was his homosexuality. Specially his (in) famous court case and subsequent ignominy. Oscar Wilde did not take a lot of trouble hiding his fondness for young men (and boys). Like a lot of people with privileged birth and status, he thought he was above the rules of the contemporary society. One of his paramours was the son of the Marqués of Queensbury (known for framing the 'Queensbury Rules' that govern modern boxing). When Queensbury took to insulting Oscar Wilde about this, Wilde filed a court case for libel against the Marques. Oscar Wilde lost this case leading to imprisonment, bankruptcy and expulsion from society. He spent his final few years as a broken man in Paris.
This book is a memoir from the point of view of this defeated and contemplative Oscar Wilde. It covers the whole of Wilde's life including his childhood, his success in London and his eventual downfall. It is interspersed with anecdotes from his final years in Paris.To a fan, while not an authority on Oscar Wilde, the voice in the book does seem like that of Oscar Wilde.. It has the wit and pomposity that one expects of Oscar Wilde. One peculiar aspect of the book is that it it full of classical greek references. I am not sure if that is Wilde or Peter Ackroyd showing off.
Amongst the several gems in this book, there is a self referential critique of the memoir as a literary form. At one point all of Wilde's friends disagree with the facts presented in the book and implore him not to publish the book. This point is something the reader should always remember, whether the author is a fictional Oscar Wilde or a real Arundhati Roy.
So, all in all, a good read.
PS: Picked this book on a whim, while casually strolling the Blossoms bookshop in Bangalore.
