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Notable British Trials
L'angelo sofisticato: Vittoria regina contro Oscar Wilde omosessuale
grande ribelle vittima del conformismo e dell'ipocrisia vittoriana? Un corruttore di giovani giustamente punito dalla legge?
Un ingenuo che si lasciò spingere in una spietata trappola giudiziaria? Un peccatore che cercò deliberatamente l'espiazione? Un esibizionista che per vanità e spavalderia volle sfidare una giuria di borghesi? Il <> Wilde, con questa croncaca dei tre famosi processi al tribunale dell'Old Bailey, è riaperto. La parola è ai lettori.
Un ingenuo che si lasciò spingere in una spietata trappola giudiziaria? Un peccatore che cercò deliberatamente l'espiazione? Un esibizionista che per vanità e spavalderia volle sfidare una giuria di borghesi? Il <> Wilde, con questa croncaca dei tre famosi processi al tribunale dell'Old Bailey, è riaperto. La parola è ai lettori.
311 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1948
About the author
H. Montgomery Hyde
66 books11 followersHarford Montgomery Hyde was born on 14 August 1907 in Belfast, the son of James Johnstone Hyde and Isobel Greenfield (née Montgomery). He was educated at Sedbergh School; Queen's University, Belfast (where he gained a first class History degree); then at Magdalen College Oxford (where he gained a second class law degree). He was called to the bar in 1934. From 1935-1939, Hyde was librarian and Private Secretary to the 7th Marquess of Londonderry. In 1939 he married Dorothy Mabel Brayshaw Crofts (divorced 1952).
During World War II, Hyde held several positions. He served as an Assistant Censor in Gibraltar (1940) and was commissioned in the intelligence corps and engaged in counter-espionage work in the United States under Sir William Stephenson, Director of British Security Co-ordination in the Western Hemisphere (whose life Hyde published as "The Quiet Canadian" in 1962). He was also Military Liaison and Security Officer, Bermuda (1940-41); Assistant Passport Control Officer, New York (1941-2); with British Army Staff, USA (1942-4); attached to the Supreme HQ Allied Expeditionary Force (1944) and then to the Allied Commission for Austria (1944-5).
Hyde was the Assistant Editor of the Law Reports (1946-7), then Legal Adviser to the British Lion Film Corporation Ltd (1947-9). From 1950-59 he was a Unionist MP for East Belfast and was the UK Delegate to the Council of Europe Consultative Assembly in Strasbourg (1952-5). From 1958-61 Hyde was an Honorary Colonel of the Intelligence Corps (Territorial Army), Northern Ireland. After losing his parliamentary seat, Hyde was Professor of History and Political Science at the University of the Punjab in Lahore (1959-61).
In 1955, Hyde married his second wife Mary Eleanor Fischer. The marriage was dissolved in 1966 and he married Rosalind Roberts Dimond. He died on August 10 1989.
Hyde wrote a great many books on a wide variety of subjects including "The Rise of Castlereagh" (1933); "The Quiet Canadian" (1962); "Cynthia" (1962) and "Secret Intelligence Agent" (1982).
The held at Churchill Archives Centre chiefly consist of the papers and letters Montgomery Hyde collected and generated in the course of writing three of his books: "The Quiet Canadian" (a biography of Sir William Stephenson, Director of British Security Co-ordination in the Western Hemisphere, 1940-46); "Cynthia" (a biography of the British agent Elizabeth (Pack) Brousse); and "Secret Intelligence Agent" (which included descriptions of his own wartime experiences). The collection also includes papers and letters relating to Hyde's work in Censorship and Security in Gibraltar, Bermuda and the USA during the Second World War; and in the legal division of the Allied Control Commission in Austria.
During World War II, Hyde held several positions. He served as an Assistant Censor in Gibraltar (1940) and was commissioned in the intelligence corps and engaged in counter-espionage work in the United States under Sir William Stephenson, Director of British Security Co-ordination in the Western Hemisphere (whose life Hyde published as "The Quiet Canadian" in 1962). He was also Military Liaison and Security Officer, Bermuda (1940-41); Assistant Passport Control Officer, New York (1941-2); with British Army Staff, USA (1942-4); attached to the Supreme HQ Allied Expeditionary Force (1944) and then to the Allied Commission for Austria (1944-5).
Hyde was the Assistant Editor of the Law Reports (1946-7), then Legal Adviser to the British Lion Film Corporation Ltd (1947-9). From 1950-59 he was a Unionist MP for East Belfast and was the UK Delegate to the Council of Europe Consultative Assembly in Strasbourg (1952-5). From 1958-61 Hyde was an Honorary Colonel of the Intelligence Corps (Territorial Army), Northern Ireland. After losing his parliamentary seat, Hyde was Professor of History and Political Science at the University of the Punjab in Lahore (1959-61).
In 1955, Hyde married his second wife Mary Eleanor Fischer. The marriage was dissolved in 1966 and he married Rosalind Roberts Dimond. He died on August 10 1989.
Hyde wrote a great many books on a wide variety of subjects including "The Rise of Castlereagh" (1933); "The Quiet Canadian" (1962); "Cynthia" (1962) and "Secret Intelligence Agent" (1982).
The held at Churchill Archives Centre chiefly consist of the papers and letters Montgomery Hyde collected and generated in the course of writing three of his books: "The Quiet Canadian" (a biography of Sir William Stephenson, Director of British Security Co-ordination in the Western Hemisphere, 1940-46); "Cynthia" (a biography of the British agent Elizabeth (Pack) Brousse); and "Secret Intelligence Agent" (which included descriptions of his own wartime experiences). The collection also includes papers and letters relating to Hyde's work in Censorship and Security in Gibraltar, Bermuda and the USA during the Second World War; and in the legal division of the Allied Control Commission in Austria.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 17, 2024
H. Montgomery Hyde's The Trials of Oscar Wilde recreates the famous playwright's libel suit against the Marquess of Queensberry, and his subsequent prosecution and imprisonment on charges of "gross indecency." Hyde, a legal historian and sometimes politician, briefly limns Wilde's career and public persona, as a brilliant, outrageous man who flaunted conventional morality while dazzling English society with his wit. Unfortunately, this proved his undoing, as his relationshipship with Lord Alfred Douglas led to his very public outing as a homosexual; first through a libel suit against Douglas's ferocious father, then through two criminal trials that laid bare Wilde's private life in embarrassing detail, followed by a prison term. Hyde's lively reconstruction of the case concedes that Wilde was his own worst enemy: he impetuously challenged Queensberry's denunciation of him as a "sodomite," forcing his own testimony under oath, in which he attempted to win the case through wit and insouciance - allowing Queensberry's brilliant attorney, Sir Edward Carson, to destroy him on cross examination. But Hyde (a staunch gay rights activist) demonstrates that no man, however arrogant or self-destructive, deserves to have their life destroyed over their personal traits; a man like Wilde is trapped into a hobson's choice between blackmail, imprisonment and public calumny by officially sanctioned bigotry. Hyde's book formed the basis for a popular 1960 film with Peter Finch and James Mason, which itself played a significant role in changing opinions on Britain's anti-sodomy laws. And while other accounts have been published since, his well-written exegesis of Wilde's downfall remains one of the best.
February 18, 2018
I had to read this book for one of my assignments at university which was about representations of Oscar Wilde in the 20th century. I originally wanted to just write about the 1960 film with Peter Finch portraying Wilde but seeing that the movie was based on Hyde's book, I decided to read it.
I really liked this book. It is itself a valuable primary source of understanding 20th century views and representations of Wilde. Hyde's attitude to Wilde's homosexuality was not one of acceptance but one of sympathy. The 20th century started a movement where homosexuals or 'inverts' as they were called were seen as suffers of the homosexual disease. To us, this still seems discriminatory but in the 20th century to see homosexuals as victims rather than as sinners was a very radical idea.
This was the first book that attempted to record how the trials of Oscar Wilde occurred. Hyde got his information from people who were at the trial, such as Lord Alfred Douglas and lawyers from Wilde's legal counsel.
I wouldn't recommend this book to people who simply want to read a narrative of the trials. Merlin Holland's (who is Wilde's grandson) book, The Irish Peacock and the Scarlet Marquess is a better book to read if you just want the facts of the trials.
Hyde's book is good for people interested in reading 20th century representations of Wilde.
I really liked this book. It is itself a valuable primary source of understanding 20th century views and representations of Wilde. Hyde's attitude to Wilde's homosexuality was not one of acceptance but one of sympathy. The 20th century started a movement where homosexuals or 'inverts' as they were called were seen as suffers of the homosexual disease. To us, this still seems discriminatory but in the 20th century to see homosexuals as victims rather than as sinners was a very radical idea.
This was the first book that attempted to record how the trials of Oscar Wilde occurred. Hyde got his information from people who were at the trial, such as Lord Alfred Douglas and lawyers from Wilde's legal counsel.
I wouldn't recommend this book to people who simply want to read a narrative of the trials. Merlin Holland's (who is Wilde's grandson) book, The Irish Peacock and the Scarlet Marquess is a better book to read if you just want the facts of the trials.
Hyde's book is good for people interested in reading 20th century representations of Wilde.
July 9, 2015
I wanted to like this book. I should have liked this book. I love Oscar Wilde. I love legal scandals, and as a (former!) attorney I thought I could really get into it. I've owned this book for 3-6 years and have tried to read it several times. I spent so much time in between attempts that I restarted it each time. Look, I didn't hate the book because I found rereading the same intro over and over again boring. I never remembered enough to have that sensation. In truth, I hated this book because it is boring. How can you make Oscar f&*#%ng Wilde boring? How can you make a triumvirate of court cases about defamation and homosexuality boring? I don't know! I just don't! Was it the small font? The huge blocks of paragraphs daring you to finish them before you can put in a bookmark? I hope not, and I've dealt with far worse from other books I've practically inhaled. I don't know why this book sucks so much. But I won't be putting it back on the shelf again to be attempted once again years from now. No, no, no, not again. Never again.
September 17, 2018
Transcripts of the three trials of Oscar Wilde with an in=depth introduction and analysis of the cases. The first, where he prosecuted Marquess Queensberry for libel; then the two subsequent ones where he was prosecuted for homosexual acts committed in private. The first trial sees Oscar's case collapse during the first speech of the defence, wherein it becomes amply clear that the defence would be in a position to prove that the statement made by Queensberry 'To Oscar Wilde, posing as a somdomite.' was factual rather than libellous.
We can rail against a legal system that can prosecute acts committed in private between consenting adults, but it becomes clear that Oscar brought this calamity onto himself - not by being a practicing homosexual, but rather by not comprehending how the legal system of the society he was a member of would grind him to dust.
We can rail against a legal system that can prosecute acts committed in private between consenting adults, but it becomes clear that Oscar brought this calamity onto himself - not by being a practicing homosexual, but rather by not comprehending how the legal system of the society he was a member of would grind him to dust.
April 6, 2025
Gripping and good for research
June 28, 2025
Audio. The audioversion is very well narrated.
January 12, 2026
historically interesting, a sign of its time.
April 26, 2011
From what I understand the Portrait of Dorian Gray was the only novel written by Oscar Wilde. It's an interesting novel - very moralistic.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews