Showing results by author "Lord Alfred Douglas" in All Categories

Penned by Lord Alfred “Bosie” Douglas in his late years, this autobiography reflects on his life nearly three decades after the demise of Oscar Wilde. His first memoir, “Oscar Wilde and Myself” (1914), was marked by anger towards his former lover. However, in this work, while the bitterness has softened, he utilizes the opportunity to respond to his various critics and adversaries. This recording, initially published on Legamus.eu, was later made available on Librivox following US copyright approvals. Summary provided by Rob Marland.

Almost a decade and a half after the death of Oscar Wilde - and dealing with the fall-out of an unsuccessful and financially ruinous libel action - Lord Alfred "Bosie" Douglas for the first time gives his version of the disastrous relationship between the two men, and Wilde's eventual disgrace and imprisonment. He also examines the literary and cultural legacy of Oscar Wilde.

This new edition provides extensive commentary on the literary figures, such as Baudelaire, Swinburne, J.K. Huysmans, Mallarmé, Arthur Symons and Théophile Gautier, who formed Wilde's literary circle and, in some senses, underpinned his overconfidence in the shield of Art to protect him from the sword of social morality. Returning to this contemporary account of such an infamous trial allows the modern listener a broader historical perspective. Grolleau’s words are, in fact, part of the history surrounding the immediate literary and social aftermath of Wilde’s death.