Alfred Douglas: A Poet's Life And His Finest Work

by Caspar Wintermans

Caspar Wintermans' eagerly awaited and highly controversial biography of Lord Alfred Douglas sets out to defend Oscar Wilde's beloved Bosie from over a century of false accusations, lies, and misinformation. By directly engaging with the source of these attacks, Wilde's De Profundis upon which most previous biographies have been based, Caspar Wintermans is able to show that this was a work written in the depths of despair while Wilde was incarcerated, being passionate, cruel, and deeply untruthful. Wintermans proves that, far from being a rakish homme fatale, Alfred Douglas was in fact a supportive and kind lover who worshipped the playwright and whose life was destroyed by both those who loved and hated the ostentatiously homosexual Wilde. Accompanied by a long overdue annotated anthology of Douglas' poetry, Alfred Douglas: A Poet's Life and His Finest Work is a revealing and moving representation of a tragically misunderstood poet.

Genres: Poetry, Biography

384 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Caspar Wintermans (born 1966, The Netherlands) is an author and scholar. He studied art history and archaeology at Leiden University. Much of his work has centered on Lord Alfred Douglas, poet and intimate friend of Oscar Wilde. His published works include Halcyon Days: Contributions to The Spirit Lamp, Dear Sir: Letters of Mr. and Mrs. Couperus to Oscar Wilde, I Desire The Moon: The Diary of Lady Alfred Douglas (Olive Custance), and Oscar Wilde: A Plea and a Reminiscence.

His latest book is Alfred Douglas: A Poet's Life and his Finest Work, a biography of Lord Alfred 'Bosie' Douglas which sets out to defend Oscar Wilde's beloved Bosie from over a century of false accusations, lies, and misinformation. Wintermans presents the case that Alfred Douglas was, contrary to popular belief, a supportive and kind lover who worshipped the playwright - and whose subsequent life was destroyed. The biographical portion of the book is also accompanied by an anthology of Douglas' poetry.

Reviews

[Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was very easily one of the books I'm most pleased I read. I didn't know nearly enough about Alfred Douglas as I thought I did before reading Winterman's biography, and knew even less of his poetry. After reading this book, which brings a figure that lovers of Wilde love to hate to life with beautiful prose and engaging humanity and sympathy, I walked away feeling a great love for Alfred Douglas.

[André · Rating 4 out of 5]

Citaat :
Review : De zaak Oscar Wilde heeft gedurende heel de twintigste eeuw schrijvers en cineasten stof tot denkwerk of analyseren geleverd dat resulteerde in de zoveelste 'Oscar Wildestory' op papier of op celluloid. De grote boosdoeners in deze zaak waren eeuwig en altijd de minnaar van Oscar Wilde, Alfred Douglas, kortweg Bossie genoemd, en diens vader, de markies van Queensberry.


Caspar Wintermans studeerde kunstgeschiedenis en archeologie en is tevens een anglofiel in hart en nieren. Hij raadpleegde heel wat literatuur over zowel Wilde als Douglas, zocht informatie bij vertrouwde bronnen en kwam tot de conclusie dat Alfred Douglas ten onrechte in een slecht daglicht werd gesteld.


Ondanks heel wat zwakke punten heeft het werk van Caspar Wintermans toch de grote verdienste dat het de belangrijkheid van Bossie als dichter aantoont. Het boek heeft me tegelijkertijd geboeid en geërgerd. Het heeft verder een groot hiaat in mijn kennis rond Alfred Douglas opgevuld en daar kan ik de auteur alleen maar erkentelijk voor zijn.

[Sarah]

Ily Bosie <3