Oscar Wilde was a brilliant writer whose literary prowess has lived long after his short tragic life. The State Library Victoria collection holds many resources for those interested in Wilde’s writings and life.
Wilde in newspapers
Wilde died while exiled in Paris, at the age of 46, after spending two years in jail for ‘gross indecency’. While in prison he suffered from malnutrition and contracted tinnitus.1 It’s interesting to see how Oscar’s life was viewed in Australian newspapers on his death. The Truth published the headline ‘Death of a demented genius’ (Truth, 9 December 1900):
In Oscar Wilde the world loses an eccentric genius whose talents, if they had been balanced by even rudimentary ideas of ethics would have allowed him to do splendid work for humanity.
Another article, written five years after his death, shows that he was a very contentious figure. The article, ‘Is Oscar Wilde dead?’, featured this sad reflection (Truth, 23 December 1905):
His name was always much more widely known than that of anything he wrote.
Wilde has been in the news more recently thanks to The Australian Ballet’s recent show Oscar. The ballet was performed in both Melbourne and Sydney this year. It was inspired by Wilde’s life and works and was created by Christopher Wheeldon. The show was acclaimed in these words by Andrew Fuhrmann.
Christopher Weeldon’s Oscar, with its rich theatrical score by Joby Talbot, is a daring but fantastically rewarding experiment in ballet storytelling. It’s engrossing, discomforting, energising, uplifting and sometimes grating, but also determinedly different.2
Wilde in Library databases
Wilde features in the library database Archives of Sexuality and Gender. The database includes the publication Gay Community News. In one issue of this publication, Stephen Robinson interviews the actor Stephen Fry, when visiting Dublin for the premier of Wilde, a 1997 film about Oscar Wilde’s life. Robinson writes of Fry’s reflections:
On a previous visit to Dublin I walked to Merrion Square to see the house and starting at the wrong end, discovered plagues Sheridan Le Fanu, dramatist; A E Russell, scholar and wit; William Butler Yeats, and eventually came upon No. 1 and was amazed to read “Sir William Wilde, Surgeon, Folklorist lived here.’ No mention of Oscar. I was utterly perplexed; I actually started shouting ‘And?! And?!3
A sculpture of Wilde by Danny Osborne was unveiled in Merrion Square, Dublin by Merlin Holland, Oscar’s grandson in 1997. This was a sign of recognition at last in his home town. Wilde had been acknowledged in London many years earlier in 1954, with a blue plaque at 34 Tite Street in Chelsea.
Books in the collection
Many of Oscar Wilde’s works are available online through the library’s website with your library membership and password. Two titles available as eBooks are ‘Salome: A Tragedy in One Act‘ and ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray.’
The Picture of Dorian Gray was first published in 1891. The reaction to this publication was not all positive:
But Dorian Gray mortally shocked the reading public, and where once its author had been laughed at by the respectable, he was now met more open enmity; he was blackballed from a West End club, and, as he had described the treatment meted out to Dorian, in an example of life imitating fiction, men would pointedly leave the room when he entered.4
The most notable work of Wilde’s held by State Library Victoria is a signed copy of Poems from 1892, held in the Library’s Rare Books collection.
Other Oscar Wilde titles held in the library’s Rare Book Collection include:
- Wilde, O,1910, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1st illustrated ed.) Montmartre, Paris, Charles Carrington, RARES 823.8 W64P
- Wilde, O, Burdett, O., & Keen, H.,1925, The Picture of Dorian Gray , London, John Lane, The Bodley Head Ltd., RARES 823.8 W64P
- Wilde, O,1927, The Nightingale and the Rose, San Francisco, Windsor Press, RARES 823.8 W64N
Many titles can also be found in the Library’s stack. Try searching the catalogue for Oscar Wilde. Any items you wish to view can be ordered using your membership number for delivery to the Redmond Barry Reading Room.
Wilde in the Manuscripts collection
Another State Library Victoria item related to Wilde is held in the manuscript autograph collection. It is the first line of the verse ‘Forgetfulness’ by Lord Alfred Bruce Douglas (1870-1945). Douglas was a poet and author but possibly better known for being in a relationship with Oscar Wilde. There is some conjecture, however, as to whether the letter is actually written in Douglas’ hand.
Another manuscript collection, collated by Barry Jones, includes a signature of Oscar Wilde’s. This collection is made up of twelve volumes of scrapbooks that comprise signatures, correspondence and photographs of significant persons. As well as Wilde, these people include other authors, artists, musicians, authors, politicians, historians, academics, and the nobility.
State Library Victoria holds a rich collection of works written by Oscar Wilde, including criticism and interpretation of his works. Many of these items can be accessed through the library’s website. These collection items include rare books, stack books, ebooks, databases and manuscripts. For newspaper articles about Wilde, explore Trove digitised newspapers. He lived a short life, but one that contributed so much to literature.
Further reading
Hyde Montgomery, H, 1976, Oscar Wilde : a biography, Eyre Methuen, London
References
- Oscar: a new ballet by Christopher Wheeldon, music by Joby Talbot, 2024, The Australian Ballet, program
- Fuhrmann, A, (15 September 2024), ‘Wilde things, they make our hearts sing‘ Sunday Age, accessed 20 September 2024
- Robinson, S, 1997/98, ‘…me and my fucking mouth‘, Gay Community News, December-January, p 23
- Calloway, S, & Colvin, D, 1997, The exquisite life of Oscar Wilde, Orion Media, London
