Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was born on the 16th October 1854 in Dublin Ireland. The son of Dublin intellectuals Oscar proved himself an outstanding classicist at Dublin, then at Oxford. With his education complete Wilde moved to London and its fashionable cultural and social circles. With his biting wit, flamboyant dress, and glittering conversation, Wilde became one of the most well-known personalities of his day. His only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray was published in 1890 and he then moved on to writing for the stage with Salome in 1891. His society comedies produced enormous hits and turned him into one of the most successful writers of late Victorian London. Whilst his masterpiece, The Importance of Being Earnest, was on stage in London, Wilde had the Marquess of Queensberry, the father of his lover, Lord Alfred Douglas, prosecuted for libel. The trial unearthed evidence that caused Wilde to drop his charges and led to his own arrest and trial for gross indecency. He was convicted and imprisoned for two years' hard labour. It was to break him. On release he left for France, There he wrote his last work, The Ballad of Reading Gaol in 1898. He died destitute in Paris at the age of forty-six sipping champagne a friend had brought with the line 'Alas I am dying beyond my means'. Here we publish his epistle De Profundis, written whilst in prison at Reading Gaol.
De Profundis (Latin: "from the depths") is a letter written by Oscar Wilde during his imprisonment in Reading Gaol, to "Bosie" (Lord Alfred Douglas). During its first half Wilde recounts...
It wasn’t until January of 1897 that Wilde began to write from his cell. De Profundis, a scathing indictment of his former lover, is the letter that Wilde wrote to Bosie from prison.
"The first variorum edition of 'De Profundis' presents its full textual history and an assessment of all extant witnesses to the text."--
De profundis
Contains De Profundis, The Ballad of Reading Gaol, The Soul of Man under Socialism, The Decay of Lying and The Critic as Artist.
Based on the Penguin Classics edition of the Complete Letters, this collection features a new introduction, notes, and appendices.
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Colm Tóibín's introduction explores Wilde's duality in love, politics and literature. This edition also includes notes on the text and suggested further reading. Oscar Wilde was born in Dublin.
De Profundis is a letter written by Oscar Wilde during his imprisonment in Reading Gaol, to "Bosie" (Lord Alfred Douglas).In its first half Wilde recounts their previous relationship and extravagant lifestyle which eventually led to Wilde's ...
His most notable works include the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray and the comic plays An Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Earnest. Find out everything you need to know about De Profundis in a fraction of the time!