Oscar Wilde Discovers America: A Novel

by Louis Edwards

In January 1882, Oscar Wilde arrived in New York to begin a nationwide publicity tour. Mentioned in a few newspaper articles -- but barely a footnote in the history books -- was the black valet who accompanied him. In a daring and richly imaginative work, Louis Edwards rescues this figure from obscurity, blurring the line between fact and fiction as he follows Wilde and his gifted confidant, Traquair, on a whirlwind tour across the country, from high-society Newport to art-conscious San Francisco to the Deep South.

Edwards's brilliantly conjured Wilde astounds the New World with his eloquent lectures and larger-than-life presence, while Traquair delights in the greatest year of his youth: losing his virginity in a Washington, D. C., brothel; meeting Jefferson Davis in Mississippi; falling hopelessly in love in St. Louis; and learning about his own family's secret history. Juxtaposed with Traquair's experiences are those of his Caucasian best friend, Baxter, who travels to England and becomes enmeshed in a circle of luminaries including Lady Wilde, James Whistler, Lillie Langtry, and Wilde's future wife, Constance Lloyd.

Combining seductive, epigrammatic language and a unique perspective on class and race in late-nineteenth-century America, Oscar Wilde Discovers America builds to a surprising climax that offers a chilling forecast of the tragic destiny of Wilde and a stunning redefinition of the American spirit.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction

304 pages, Hardcover

First published January 28, 2003

Reviews

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

"I always went straight to a brothel without any trouble. It was only when I headed for home that I realized I was lost," a character responds in a discussion about locating brothels. Thus, the best portion of this novel is the dialogue: the author does inform us that some lines are Wilde's, some his own, and many are truly great. But at the same time, this is the weakest portion of the novel: after a while everyone seems to talk like Wilde. The story of Oscar Wilde touring America in 1882 with a black valet offers many dramatic elements. And the one dramatic issue (among many) that Edwards telegraphs to readers early in the book (at first sight, Wilde is happily stunned by the physical beauty of his valet, Traquair) does have a nice payoff before Wilde returns to Europe. But I had a hard time believing in its aftermath which impacts Traquair from 1882 through 1936, at which point the novel ends. There are a lot of characters here, a lot happens, and in the hands of a writer such as Donna Tartt, this 284-page novel could have easily been an 800-page doorstopper. But to his great credit Edwards doesn't waste a word. I enjoyed this novel: it has a high-concept Hollywood film feel and is executed, in general, pleasantly. (I do think this is great material for a film, but it would be an outrageously expensive one to make and would probably appeal mostly to the art film market unless, for example, the valet has supernatural powers and saves Oscar, and the world, at the end.)

[Hollie Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Review written in 2007)
Picked this novel up at a used book sale - how could I not? What with such a title and my appreciation for all things Wilde. The author is a truly excellent writer with a keen grasp of the subtleties of language. One would have to be when using Oscar Wilde as a character.
The book is about William Traquair, the (fictional) valet who accompanied Wilde on his entire US tour in 1882. Traquair is an educated black man who has lived a privileged life and never expected to "serve" anyone, ie, follow in his father's footsteps (even though his father's employer has been the one to provide all the privilege.) But when he is pushed toward the job of valet to Oscar Wilde, Traquair sees a great future for himself. There are lots of side and back stories but the main thrill of this book is the superb repartee between Traquair and Wilde who become fast friends and have fabulous conversations as they tour the cities of the Northeast, the Midwest, the West, and the deep south (so soon after the war!) Kudos to Edwards for the great writing and the well imagined story. Some perfectly Wildean quotes: page 61 while discussing the Constitution - Traquair- "… in the event of an assassination the vice president becomes president." Wilde- "Yes. How perfectly and puritanically American - you really shouldn't so readily accept all of England's bad habits - to take away a man's vice and call it a promotion. Now I've lost my point." page 107 Traquair- "Could it have been love if it was brief?" Wilde- "That love is eternal is a myth. Brevity is one of love's truest indicators. True love explodes, rather like a bomb. What remains are ruins. The two agents, should they survive, are left to pick themselves up, dust off their tattered bodies, and move on. The love that lasts… is not love. It is something else." page 160 "Love can survive many monstrous lies," she said. "But one tiny truth can kill it." The book was peppered with aphorisms that Wilde could have said but to my awareness, didn't. I like the writer's mind. Oh and a favorite (I don't remember the page where is was first said but I'll probably remember it always,) "Travel moves me."

[Todd Stockslager · Rating 4 out of 5]

I kept hearing (and singing to myself) the first line of the Jimmy Buffett song that starts "Oscar Wilde died in bed, several floors above my head" every time I picked up this book.

A poignantly funny book that will inspire me to read more of and more about Oscar Wilde, the flamboyant and ultimately self-destructive "Aesthete", this book fleshes out in fiction the sketchy historical mentions of a black valet who traveled with Wilde through the US in 1882. Wilde is secondary to William Traquair, the valet and Bowdoin College graduate, who ends up finding his horizons stretched and family connections challenged. William quips "travel moves me", and in the end travel left him places he may have wished not to end up.

Very well done.

[Kirstie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just finished this one last night and I have to say it was thoroughly enjoyable overall to read as an Oscar Wilde fan. It's one of those books that isn't based completely in fact and so some liberties were taken in terms of interpreting things Oscar was known to say and articles/reviews of his tour in America. It's from the perspective of a servant and, as the book supposes, close friend of Oscar's. This man is black at a time that people are much more discriminated against based on race (not too long after the Civil War.) He's college educated and has studied Wilde...and so, though his aspirations are much higher than being a mere servant, he decides it's worthwhile to follow Wilde around North America and can't give up the opportunity. The book also supposes that Traquair, as he is called, comes up with sayings as witty and insightful as Wilde does and even inspires Wilde, whose portrait is painted as someone intelligent enough to look beyond race and see beauty despite the racism of the time (Indeed, wouldn't we all love to think this was the case!)


Though it's fiction for the most part, it's incredibly believable. It's also very witty as you might imagine and an adventure besides. There are two adventures here-the first being Oscar's in which he tries to turn America towards art (and truly to win its love imo) We see him putting on airs while lying on decadent furs while the inner vulnerability is obvious to any half observant person around him for half a second that has any idea about human nature.


The second is about Traquair and his quest to search out his lineage, locate his relatives, and have a wild time of it. It's a year of his life when you can imagine not one day is even half lived. He feels every range of emotion-elation to depression. And, as his intelligence provides Oscar with more and more material "Travel moves me," we become increasingly interested in the surreality of this character as well. Of course, we know how Oscar's life ends. To provide us with a new character of such intellect adds a mystery to the ending of the novel itself.


I must also say that it has a very interesting ending...Without giving away too much, let me say it's a double ending. The first ending is somewhat open. The next is a final ending many years later, which I don't think is often done. It adds a real sense of perspective though, from Traquair's point of view, about this year of his life and what ended up happening in reality to our dear friend Oscar.

[Sherry Howland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although, for the most part, I enjoyed "Oscar Wilde Discovers America," I felt that it was too fantastical for the serious societal and family concerns the author was tackling, however tangentially. The idea that a young black man, no matter how attractive and well-educated, could move so freely in 19th century US society as Traquair is depicted, is asking the reader to abandon all practical knowledge of our convoluted and violent racial history.

Traquair may have been "sheltered" while under the care of his well-heeled abolitionist household in cosmopolitan New York, but in the entire book there was only one scuffle over his free access to all things of white America, which took place on a sleeper train in the deep South. I have to believe even in the post Civil War North, a black valet would not have achieved such entry to the drawing rooms and dining tables of the wealthy and influential.

And it's not only racial issues that we're asked to ignore, but those of Mr Wilde's demeanor and sexual orientation as well. As funny as the episode may have read in the book, I have a real problem imagining a bunch of rough & tumble miners accepting Oscar Wilde into their midst, enchanting them with his knee breeches and poetic rendition of Jesse James' final moments. Seriously, would that happen even today?

To me, the author had not entirely made up his mind about how he was presenting his characters and story. Was it a fantasy or was it to be taken as a serious coming of age tale in a pivotal time in our history? Perhaps I was simply trying to read "Oscar Wilde Discovers America" too literally, maybe I needed to let go of my pragmatism. It is an entertaining...if stilted...book. But be prepared to let all credulity fly with the winds.

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an interesting attempt to imagine what life would have been like for the valet to Oscar Wilde as he traveled the nation on a whirlwind speaking tour. The narrator, Traquair, is a college educated New York African American who begins as a servant to Wilde, but becomes a close friend and intellectual sparring partner. While there is much effort here to recreate the Wildean banter, the dialogue is a bit too precious and self conscious-- a sort of Frasier episode for Victorians with all the pompousness and little of the humor. Some of the conversations become extremely tedious and long winded to little advantage toward the plot.

Traquair also seems curiously disembodied, strangely unaware of his racially marked body in a time of extreme racial violence, and oddly unconcerned, given his historical context, about his apparent bisexuality. In the end, despite what Traquair says about his love for a woman, this is really a not very interesting love story among three men- Traquair,his childhood friend, and Wilde. The women characters are one dimensional props in a weak narrative-- all fluttering eyelashes and gushing admiration and little else.

There is much here that could have been built into a compelling narrative, but the writing and the tedious pace of the novel make the tale limp to an unsurprising finale.

[Yasmin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book for the first time about a year or so after it was originally published. I think it is the best book to date with Oscar Wilde as a fictional character. Not even Gyles Brandreth's recent books make Oscar Wilde come alive as Louis Edwards does. I have since read this book altogether three or four times and I am happy I have included it as a part of my library collection. I am also glad that we have a perspective of the valet that accompanied Oscar Wilde on his North American tour. Other books of the same period has never given a voice to Traquair as Mr.Edwards has in this book. Not only make William Traquair an equal to Oscar Wilde, but he gave the long dues await Constance Lloyd in wit and intelligence sorely lacking in all other forms of literature about her to date. With this masterpiece I don't know where Louis Edwards will go next in his great works of art.

[Nan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a little put off by the tone of the book's main character, William Traquair, at first but I quickly warmed up to him. This is a very good coming of age novel centering around Traquair as he tours the country as Oscar Wilde's valet. The book sets the reader up to expect a major crisis as the tour heads South -- Traquair is African-American and the novel is set at the time of Wilde's actual tour, 20 years after the Civil War. But without revealing spoilers I'll say this novel is full of surprises. It may not fulfill the expectations of those who want a fictional portrait of Wilde, though he is drawn sympathetically and fully. But it's a great work of historical fiction using real characters.

[Marsha · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fictional account of an actual trip, this is the story of Oscar Wilde’s famous journey throughout 19th-century America as told by his valet. While history had little to say about William Traquire, Mr. Edwards manages to imbue this shadowy figure with personality and style. Edwards also captures Oscar Wilde’s indolent, witty and effete style with such accuracy, you feel the author might have taken this trip with them.

The reader is sent along on this journey by railway, staying in luxurious hotels and standing deep underground as Mr. Wilde enthralls one and all in his verbal spell.

[Karen Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this novel that is based on enormous research of Oscar Wilde and his visit to the US. Interspersed with letters between two friends, the actions in the book are less about Oscar Wilde and more about his servant, Traquair, a young, recent college graduate who is African-American. His upbringing and education do not prepare him for life; however, his time with Oscar Wilde provides a greater education.

I especially liked the ending. An excellent read for anyone.

[Joseph Teller · Rating 1 out of 5]

I came to this novel after hearing loads of praise for it in my book club, but found it severely wanting. It's more about Wilde's Butler and the conditions in America at the time for black servants. Rather than of his grand tour than about portraying the man or doing anything really interesting in regards to story.

I didn't need another lecture about race relations, historical or otherwise. I wanted an Oscar Wilde story.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful concept for a book, Oscar Wilde was a fascinating, flamboyant, charismatic, charming bon vivant. His travels in America must have been memorable. But the only thing wrong with "Oscar Wilde Discovers America" is that there is just not enough of Oscar Wilde discovering America.

It’s a work of fiction. Make something up.

[Elizabeth☮ · Rating 2 out of 5]

this book chronicles the year wilde tours america giving lectures on art. the story is told from the perspective of his valet, william traquair. it has clever dialogue and witticisms, but it fell short of my expectations. not worth the time.

[Karschtl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another book this year I didn't finish. Not that it was particularly bad, and I did read 50 pages of it. But so far there were no highlights in it, no really interesting stuff and so for me no reason to keep reading.

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

i always try to finish every book i read, but this just wasnt going to happen. it's so lame! dont bother.

[Rich Mitchell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ehh, so far.

[Ash · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh man. I don't know about this one. The writing was actually pretty good at times, and never downright bad, but the plot was kind of out there.

[Kathei · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book draws on facts from Oscar Wilde's life and combines it with a fictional story about when he arrived in America. I enjoyed the book.

[Judith Rice]

EXCELLENT BOOK