Robbie Ross: Oscar Wilde's Devoted Friend

by Jonathan Fryer

In a compelling narrative of moral courage and personal integrity, this biography tells the story of Robert Baldwin Ross, the man who first seduced Oscar Wilde and never wavered in his loyalty to the flamboyant wit and playwright. Unfailingly, Ross stood by Wilde through the scandals that shocked a nation, through his much-publicized trials and imprisonment, at his deathbed in Paris—and thereafter dedicated himself to defending the reputation of his famous friend.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, LGBT, Biography Memoir

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Liam Ostermann · Rating 3 out of 5]

(A few corrections made after posting a review of Maureen Borland's dreadful biography of Ross)

Good but not scintillating biography, it is a hagiography for a man who, while his loyalty to Wilde was impressive, was also for a long time a voracious sexual scoundrel whose pious sanctimoniousness once he became a Catholic even got on Wilde's nerves. Rather than accepting Ross as someone who did good things and had upstanding qualities but was also deeply flawed, selfish, self-serving and self promoting we end up with a portrait that is insipid. I am bored reading biographies that are still trapped viewing things through the Ross-Bosie feud. Alfred Douglas was a monster but he was a monster that was, if not created by Wilde, allowed to flourish and develop as a monster because of Wilde. There was little in Wilde's relationship with Bosie that matched his description of the 'love that dared not speak its name' at his trial. Ross was cleverer than Bosie, which was not difficult, and knew better how to exploit the vast hypocrisies of English society. He was not a better person than Bosie, he was just better at winning.

I wish Ross would get a new biography free of partisanship. The entire Wilde story has been buried under a mountain of special pleadings and interests. It would be interesting to see what a writer like Neil McKenna or Matthew Sturgess could make of Ross's life. He was fascinating man who is ill served by this milk slop life.

[Leigh · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wish I could give this book more stars, because I loved its portrayal of a turn-of-the-century Britain where everyone in the arts knew everyone else. (And almost everyone was in love with everyone else.) Its attention to the tangled, tangential connections among its sprawling cast is its main strength, really.

But for all that, it's a pretty slight book, and could have done with a merciless editing job. E.g., I'm sorry, but it's inexcusable that three pages from the end, we got such a blatant misprint as "It is true that [Ross] outlived Oscar by three years...." Try eighteen? It's not the best Ross biography that could have been produced, and moreover it's not nearly the best historical account.

I had a ball reading this book, but that's no surprise. With this kind of subject material, you'd have to work awfully hard to be boring.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good biography of Robbie Ross that tries very hard to tell his story and not Wilde who he protected for many years. While some of it gets into Bosie quite a bit, the author tries to keep its focus on Ross and tells a wonderful tale of a literary patron.

[Djrmel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very deep look into the man who stood behind Oscar Wilde in life and in death.

[Stef Smulders · Rating 3 out of 5]

Doesn't add much to the well-known story of Wilde's rise to fame and subsequent downfall, as Robbie does not have a very interesting personal history of his own worth telling.