The Complete Letters of Oscar Wilde

by Oscar Wilde

Here is Oscar Wilde revealed in his own words--including more than 200 previously unpublished letters--available to coincide with the one hundredth anniversary of his deathDeliciously wicked, astoundingly clever, and often outright shocking, Oscar Wilde put his art into his work and his genius into his life. In this collection, replete with newly discovered letters, the full extent of that genius is unveiled.Charting his life from his Irish upbringing to fame in his fin de siècle London to infamy and exile in Paris, the letters--written between 1875 and 1900 to publishers and fans, friends and lovers, enemies and adversaries--resound with Wilde's wit, brilliance, and humanity. Wilde's grandson, Merlin Holland, and Rupert Hart-Davis have produced a provocative and revealing self-portrait. Wilde's reputation as a serious thinker, humorous writer, and gay icon continues to flourish. The Complete Letters is an intimate exploration of his life and thoughts--Wilde in his own words.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Classics, LGBT, History, Queer, Memoir

1270 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1962

About the author

Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is best remembered for his epigrams and plays, his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, and his criminal conviction for gross indecency for homosexual acts.
Wilde's parents were Anglo-Irish intellectuals in Dublin. In his youth, Wilde learned to speak fluent French and German. At university, he read Greats; he demonstrated himself to be an exceptional classicist, first at Trinity College Dublin, then at Magdalen College, Oxford. He became associated with the emerging philosophy of aestheticism, led by two of his tutors, Walter Pater and John Ruskin. After university, Wilde moved to London into fashionable cultural and social circles.
Wilde tried his hand at various literary activities: he wrote a play, published a book of poems, lectured in the United States and Canada on "The English Renaissance" in art and interior decoration, and then returned to London where he lectured on his American travels and wrote reviews for various periodicals. Known for his biting wit, flamboyant dress and glittering conversational skill, Wilde became one of the best-known personalities of his day. At the turn of the 1890s, he refined his ideas about the supremacy of art in a series of dialogues and essays, and incorporated themes of decadence, duplicity, and beauty into what would be his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890). Wilde returned to drama, writing Salome (1891) in French while in Paris, but it was refused a licence for England due to an absolute prohibition on the portrayal of Biblical subjects on the English stage. Undiscouraged, Wilde produced four society comedies in the early 1890s, which made him one of the most successful playwrights of late-Victorian London.
At the height of his fame and success, while An Ideal Husband (1895) and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895) were still being performed in London, Wilde issued a civil writ against John Sholto Douglas, the 9th Marquess of Queensberry for criminal libel. The Marquess was the father of Wilde's lover, Lord Alfred Douglas. The libel hearings unearthed evidence that caused Wilde to drop his charges and led to his own arrest and criminal prosecution for gross indecency with other males. The jury was unable to reach a verdict and so a retrial was ordered. In the second trial Wilde was convicted and sentenced to two years' hard labour, the maximum penalty, and was jailed from 1895 to 1897. During his last year in prison he wrote De Profundis (published posthumously in abridged form in 1905), a long letter that discusses his spiritual journey through his trials and is a dark counterpoint to his earlier philosophy of pleasure. On the day of his release, he caught the overnight steamer to France, never to return to Britain or Ireland. In France and Italy, he wrote his last work, The Ballad of Reading Gaol (1898), a long poem commemorating the harsh rhythms of prison life.

Reviews

[ouliana · Rating 4 out of 5]

i adore how beautifully he always begged everyone for money

[Reginald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actually, I read this edition of Wilde's letters when it was reissued a couple of years back. Whenever I'm going through my Wilde phase (about once a month) I flip through this tome for comfort and laughs. Who knew that the art of letter writing could be so entertaining? Oscar did!

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Oscar's letters a lot, I really felt like he was writing to me, like he was a dear friend and I knew him in person. They show who he truly was, a genius, but with weaknesses like all human beings, a very sensitive soul. His letters are one of the most touching writings I have ever read.

[M. Cadena · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 estrellas a la edición por dar contexto de cada carta y una biografía resumida. A las cartas no les daría un rating, son la vida de alguien, pero puedo decir que son muy poéticas y tristes, y tuve que dejar las últimas por alrededor de uno o dos meses

[Lilyy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mi adorado Wilde, ¿Qué tanto amabas a esa persona, que hasta perdiste toda tu vida construida, solo por él?.

Sin duda alguna los sentimientos que expresa son tan hermosos, melancólicos y devotos por así decirlo ya que eran cartas dirigidas hacia la persona que él amaba. Siempre me va a doler que esas palabras y esos sentimientos expresados eran para alguien que realmente no los merecía.😞
La manera en la que le dice como prácticamente respira por él, y que lo que lo mantiene con fuerza para seguir en esa cárcel es esperar el día en que se reencuentren. Yo simplemente amo la manera en la que convierte el amor en poesía.
En fin, nadie me hará quererte Bosie.

[Eli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Son las cartas más bonitas que he leído. Lo único que vi mal en el libro es que se muestran las cartas ya traducidas y en muchas partes se nota cómo se pierde un poco el sentido por culpa de la traducción. Habría estado bien que hubieran puesto las cartas originales y luego, si querían, la traducción. Por lo demás, estuvo genial. Creo que es un buen complemento para 'De Profundis', porque muestra el lado bueno que Oscar Wilde no mencionó ahí y con ello hace que veas esa relación de un modo diferente.

[sofiac]

Las cartas desde la acusación de Wilde en adelante me hicieron daño

[Yaredi Pizano · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[eleanor*ೃ༄ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel like the thing that hurt me the most was Oscar's love

After years, Oscar still loved Lord Alfred Douglass. Even after being jailed his love still continued.

"Besides, I want to see you. It is really absurd. I can’t live without you. You are so dear, so wonderful. I think of you all day long, and miss your grace, your boyish beauty, the bright sword-play of your wit, the delicate fancy of your genius, so surprising always in its sudden swallow-flights towards north and south, towards sun and moon — and, above all, yourself. The only thing that consoles me is what Sybil of Mortimer Street (whom mortals call Mrs. Robinson) said to me*. If I could disbelieve her I would, but I can’t, and I know that early in January you and I will go away together for a long voyage, and that your lovely life goes always hand in hand with mine. My dear wonderful boy, I hope you are brilliant and happy.

I went to Bertie, today I wrote at home, then went and sat with my mother. Death and Love seem to walk on either hand as I go through life: they are the only things I think of, their wings shadow me.

London is a desert without your dainty feet… Write me a line and take all my love — now and for ever.

Always, and with devotion — but I have no words for how I love you.

Oscar ( not the whole letter)
https://www.brainpickings.org/2013/07...

It hurts, loving someone and the only act of it being criminalized. It hurts, not being able to love someone because of what other people think is disgusting. But the disgusting thing is the fact that humans actually used to think like this.
That the human race has thought that love, if it is not from a man to woman or woman to man, is wrong.
That loving someone is a wrongdoing.

"He is witty, graceful, lovely to look at, lovable to be with. He has also ruined my life, so I can’t help loving him — it is the only thing to do."

And no, no Oscar. He has not ruined your life. But Britain, —a country I am now ashamed of being from— has.

But Oscar still loved Alfred till his death. Even while still being married to a woman and having two children, he loved Alfred and was not ashamed of it. He showed he wasn't ashamed of loving Alfred, he showed that his love was real, because why? Why should we be ashamed of the people we love? Oscar wasn't ashamed of Alfred, and I'm sure that Alfred wasn't ashamed of Oscar

And to think that If I lived during those times, being the person I am today. I would have been on trial right now, with the "crime" of homosexuality.

And not only that, they called homosexuality a "gross indecency"

I'm actually crying while writing this.
What makes it so wrong? What is so wrong about it? Forcing a gay man to marry a woman as if it is some kind of sick substitute for love? Forcing a trans man to stay a woman because "that's the way you are supposed to be" ?
What "God" ? "Religion" ?
Who is this "God" to tell us what is right and what is wrong?

I'm honestly wishing the Oscar Wilde trial never happened, he never married. Just living a happily ever after with Alfred.
Gods, what is wrong with us humans

[Elysia Fionn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The experience of reading this book was completely different than what I thought it would be. I assumed it would be chock-full of "Oscariana"... witticisms, epigrams, and bon mots. It was not.

At over 1,200 pages, I had to renew it from the library to get it finished. It was not a plot-filled read. In fact, it was a very peppered plethora of letters to people that fell into the following categories:

1. Letters asking for money. Lots and lots and LOTS of asking for money. Some of these letters are to people that were actually in charge of his speaking tours, etc. - but many of them were to friends, or people that he thought were his friends.

2. Letters to actors and actresses that he wanted to star in his plays. Many of these plans never came to fruition.

3. Letters breaking dates that he had previously made. (Lunch, tea, dinner, etc.) - I got the definite impression that O.W. was very much a fair-weather friend. If anyone he deemed more "beautiful" sent him an invite, he would break a previous engagement with no qualms whatsoever.

4. Letters complaining about things. a) Articles about him in the press b) Covers of books and why they weren't in the color/font type he had requested c) Promised payment / non payment for poems / books / plays d) Why the recipient hadn't written to him in a timely fashion

At the end of it all, I just felt very sad about Oscar Wilde. He was a talented, special, famous person who trusted his own hype too much, and ended up depending on the kindness of others - which more often than not was nonexistent. He simultaneously thought very highly of himself, and would condescend to people who were in a more secure position than he was, and thought so little of himself that he became subservient and begged for friendship, money, etc.

The few friends he did have were alienated and berated by him. I suspect it was the use of drugs and alcohol that left him so paranoid that when he saw his bank accounts dwindling, he sent aggressive letters to his friends, accusing them of going back on their promises, or swindling him outright. It's amazing that any of them stuck around.

As for Lord Alfred Douglas... words fail me. Theirs was a toxic relationship on both sides, but "Bosie", the "dear boy", was anything but kind to Oscar Wilde. Oscar had many chances to rid himself of that particular parasite, but he just kept going back to him... a fatal flaw.

Oscar's life spiraled into a sad, painful existence, and he died a sad, painful death. This book has left me wondering if the decline of his life was a product of the intolerant times he lived in, or whether he had that fatal flaw that rich, famous people still have today, which more often than not results in their shocking and untimely deaths. I suspect it's a little of both.

[Merry · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a character, Oscar Wilde (1888-1895) I would describe him as a "social butterfly". He knew everyone and would attend parties/dinners/theater productions and more, every night/day of the week. He hated Sundays because there was nothing to do but go to church, everything was closed! They say he was the life of any party, captivating his audience with wit and interesting stories. He was a "writer, wit, and raconteur, as the pre-eminent personality of his day".

1888 to 1895 he completed Salome the novel, as well as four well received plays, Lady Windermere's Fan, A Woman of No Importance , An Ideal Husband, and The Importance of Being Earnest. His humor was well received and at this time he was quite famous for his work.

Married to Constance in 1884, time passes and they find themselves as friends, so they both sought love outside their marriage. As she grew older, Wilde commented her shape had changed after the birth of their children, and in referencing her, he went on to equate "age with decay".

Somewhere along his life journey, Wilde found himself attracted to men and was even convicted for homosexual offenses resulting in 2 years in Wandsworth Gaol. After his prison sentence he wrote only one more significant piece of work, a long poem, "The Ballad of Reading Gaol". He died alone, a pauper, in a Paris hotel room. After his death friends have written biographies and managed to re kindle his career and to this day he is considered a great literary writer.

I have enjoyed reading many of the letters in this book, they will transport you back in time and you can feel what he was thinking, his concerns, his happiness or disappointments. Also there are many extra notes explaining the contents of the letters, along with description of history events that may coincide with a letter. Privy to such private letters sheds a whole new light on Mr. Wilde and his life as well as that period in time.

**Please note: I am not an English scholar and have only translated what I have personally learned on my own about Oscar Wilde. I am open to corrections or additional facts.

[Ale✝ · Rating 5 out of 5]

No tengo palabras.

Este librito es una recopilación de treinta cartas escritas por Oscar Wilde a su amado Lord Alfred Douglas. Para los que conocemos su trágica historia, sabemos que no fue nada parecido a un cuento de hadas, sin embargo, la devoción y el amor infinito con el que estas cartas están escritas hacen que lo creamos de otra manera.

Estas cartas no fueron escritas con el fin de ser vistas por el ojo público. Cualquier persona apenas abre el libro se puede dar cuenta. La manera tan tierna en la que Wilde escribe es tan íntima, dulce y desesperada que no podía evitar sentirme hasta culpable de ver algo tan desnudo y precioso. Desde la amorosa manera de referirse a Bosie hasta el más mímimo de los adjetivos hacían que mi alma se encoja hasta hacerse bolita.

Me ha llenado el corazón de sentimientos encontrados. ¿Pero qué más se puede esperar de dos poetas perdidamente enamorados? Sin duda es un libro que leeré más de una vez.

100000000/5

[JELB · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es increíble leer todos los sentimientos de este autor y todas las cuestiones que plantea, me gustaron muchos sus cartas , de ellas extraje estos fragmentos que llevaré conmigo siempre.

No podemos negar que lo correcto hubiese sido que Wild dejara a su esposa y no le fuera infiel pero dejando eso de lado verdaderamente sentía mucho ámor hacía Alfred.

Me dolió mucho tambien leer como poco a poco fue perdiendo la esperanza de salir en libertad. La opresión que sentía de que todo el mundo lo juzgará , como anhelaba siempre tener cerca a Alfred y le contaba hasta la más mínima cosa que pasaba en su vida.

De esta edición me gusto que al final de las cartas te explican personas importantes de la vida de ambos , situaciones o figuras trascendentales de la época.

Frases:

-Sé que Jacinto, al que Apolo tan locamente amó, fuiste tú en los días griegos.

- Realmente es absurdo, pero no puedo vivir sin ti.
¡Eres tan deseable, tan maravilloso! Pienso en ti durante todo el día, y echo de menos tu encanto, tu adolescente belleza, la brillante espada de tu ingenio, la delicada fantasía de tu talento, tan sorprendente siempre en sus repentinos vuelos, cual golondrina.
hacia el norte o el sur, hacia el sol o la luna —y sobre todo, a ti mismo.

-Muerte y el Amor parecen caminar, uno u otro, de mi mano, mientras cruzo la vida: son lo único que recuerdo, sus alas me dan sombra.

- Querido, querido muchacho, eres para mí más de
lo que nadie piensa; eres la atmósfera de belleza a través de la cual veo la vida; eres la encarnación de todas las cosas amables. Cuando no estamos en armonía, los colores huyen para mí de las cosas, pero en realidad nunca estamos sin armonía. Pienso en ti dia y noche.

- Tu amor ha abierto las alas y es firme, tu amor viene a mí atravesando los barrotes de mi prisión y me conforta, tu amor es la luz de todas mis horas. Los que no saben lo que es el amor, escribirán, lo sé, si el hado nos es adverso, que yo he ejercido una mala influencia en tu vida. Si eso dicen, escribirás o podrás decir a tu vez, que no es así. Nuestro amor siempre ha sido hermoso y noble, y si yo he sido el blanco de una terrible tra-gedia, ello ha ocurrido porque la naturaleza de nuestro amor no ha sido entendida.

[Martina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me resulta imposible tener que puntuar algo tan personal e íntimo, pero le voy a poner 5 estrellas porque realmente me generó muchas cosas leerlas.

Destaqué unas frases que me parecieron hermosas:

"Puesto que la esperanza o mejor aún la certeza, de encontrarte de nuevo en alguna parte es la meta y el estímulo de mi vida presente, ¡ah! debo continuar viviendo en este mundo precisamente por eso."

"Mantenerte en mi alma es el único objeto de este dolor al que los hombres llaman vida."

"Me gustan las últimas palabras de cualquier cosa: en arte, el fin es el principio."

"¿Supuse que los pecadores deben ocupar los lugares mas altos junto al altar de Cristo? Supe, en cualquier caso, que Cristo no quería echarme.?"

"Están todos furiosos porque he vuelto a tí, pero no comprenden."

[Erika HerO✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Tu carta era deliciosa, vino rojo y amarillo para mí; pero estoy descontento y triste. Bosie (apodo de Alfred), no debes hacerme escenas. Me matan, destruyen la hermosura de la vida. No puedo verte, tan griego y grácil, desfigurado de furor. No puedo oírte decir, con los labios torcidos, cosas abominables contra mí. Preferiría verte amargo, injusto, odiando. Necesito verte enseguida. Tú eres lo divino que deseo, y lo encantador y bello; pero no sé cómo hacerlo."

…"Realmente es absurdo, pero no puedo vivir sin ti . ¡Eres tan deseable, tan maravilloso! Pienso en ti durante todo el día, y echo de menos tu encanto, tu adolescente belleza, la brillante espada de tu ingenio, la delicada fantasía de tu talento, tan sorprendente siempre en sus repentinos vuelos, cual golondrina, hacia el norte o el sur, hacia el sol o la luna."

[ari · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Están todos furiosos conmigo porque he vuelto a ti, pero no nos comprenden. Sé que sólo contigo podré hacer algo. Rehaz para mí mi vida arruinada, y nuestra amistad y amor tendrán así un significado diferente para el mundo."

¿Cómo vas a ser tan romántico y aferrado, Wilde? Escribe de una manera tan preciosa, tan íntima y tan única. Fue maravilloso adentrarme en su escritura, pero conforme vas avanzando en la lectura, se siente más doloroso al considerar el contexto. De igual modo, agradezco la breve biografía y el contexto en cada carta; me pareció asombroso.

[Ester Burgerová · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oscar wilde letters are absolutely brilliant! His love letters to both women and men in his life have made my bar higher and his response to critics of picture of dorian grey is extremely enjoyable and sassy. Most of all his late letters during and after his imprisonment are heartbreaking as his character and pride are being broken down. Never thought letters would have brought me to tears

[Ana Paula Castillo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Voy a ser algo insoportable con lo que este libro me ha dado.
El prologo te informa acerca del contexto de las cartas, es bastante largo, así que si sabes acerca de la vida de oscar wilde igualmente puedes encontrar cosas nuevas que pueden interesarte.

Ame varias de las cartas.

Oscar Deserved Better

[Yanichell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me lo releí accidentalmente porque no recordaba que ya lo había leído y el que yo tenía estaba nombrado como "De profundis" sin embargo sigue siendo igual de excelente que la última vez que lo leí y me sigue dejando igual de destrozada.
Sin dudas Oscar Wilde es mi escritor favorito y siempre me encontré afín a su vida personal y como eso se relacionó a sus obras

[Franco Fica · Rating 5 out of 5]

¡Hermoso!
Hace tanto tiempo que deseaba leer este libro y cuando ya lo hize me sentí bendecido por Wilde.
Se puede ver notoriamente la evolución de la relación entre Oscar y Alfred, desde sus inicios hasta lo que se pudo salvar de su fin.
Sentí una gran pena por Oscar, ya que es muy facil de notar que Douglas no lo amaba, simplemente lo utilizaba para poder vivir de acuerdo a sus deseos, y es aun más desgarrador leer las hermosas cartas que Oscar le dedicaba donde dejaba su alma y corazón a una persona mimada y caprichosa.

[Beth Wang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a huge heart, incredible talent, and tragic passions. His eloquence, humor and honesty in writing to his friends, family and associates are extraordinary. So glad this treasure trove has been saved.

[karol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buenísimo, las cartas en si son muy honestas y Oscar se expresa de una manera muy linda. Me parece si un poco turbio el como siempre lo llama muchacho, como esa figura de juventud eterna, pero pues de eso mismo hablo en el retrato de Dorian así que bue. En conclution, no vuelvan con sus exs

[Yang Pachankis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite appreciated his circular grammar in those letters I remember.

[melodious]

im coming for you mf

[Mavi ♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mi trauma literario:

[Micaela *CLONAZINE* · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wilde el último romantico, cómo vas a escribir así???

[Oliviaa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love my dead gay son!!

[Iris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me regalaron este libro. Y me pareció genial para conocer más del autor y a su Dorian Gray de la vida real.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh Oscar

[gio (⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠) · Rating 5 out of 5]

puta madre oscar Wilde es yo Igual de migajero