Oscar Wilde was a legendary wit, a poetic provocateur, and one of England's greatest playwrights who became a martyr for free love, a scapegoat for repressive society, and a myth onto himself. Shimmering beneath the dazzling witticisms and delicious irony is Wilde's profound, serious, and unshakeable commitment to love. Love is the experience that can unmoor us from the habits, conventions, and expectations of our lives in both thrilling and unsettling ways. It is also the thing that, like no other, inspires undreamed-of acts of courage. This edition combines Wilde's thoughts on love from his published writings with a selection of Wilde's letters to Lord Alfred Douglas (';Bosie') and a little-known letter from Douglas to Wilde.

Oscar Wilde was a legendary wit, a poetic provocateur, and one of England’s greatest playwrights who became a martyr for free love, a scapegoat for repressive society, and a myth onto himself. Shimmering beneath the dazzling witticisms and delicious irony is Wilde’s profound, serious, and unshakeable commitment to love. Love is the experience that can unmoor us from the habits, conventions, and expectations of our lives in both thrilling and unsettling ways. It is also the thing that, like no other, inspires undreamed-of acts of courage. This edition combines Wilde’s thoughts on love from his published writings with a selection of Wilde’s letters to Lord Alfred Douglas (“Bosie”) and a little-known letter from Douglas to Wilde.

Contents

Wilde on Love 1

Wilde in Love (Letters) 79

A Note on the Letters 80

About the Book 112

Oscar Wilde 120

Sources 123