And it was all because of Lord Alfred Douglas: The man who destroyed Oscar Wilde. He never recovered and died a few years later, alone and in poverty. He was sent to prison from 1895 to 1897, and emerged a broken man. ![]() A few years later, Wilde died, alone and flat broke. The trial and his conviction for 'gross indecency' ruined Wildes life both personally and professionally. But when Douglas' family threatened to cut off his allowance if he remained with Wilde, he left. The letter is both the story of Wilde and Douglas' relationship and a merciless takedown of Douglas' character and behavior.īosie didn't see that letter for decades, however, and in an incredible twist, The Guardian reports the two men reunited after Wilde's release, living together in Naples. As the encyclopedia Britannica reports, Wilde composed his last major literary work, the searing love letter-cum-revenge note "De Profundis" ("Out of the Depths") during his imprisonment. Famous Trials notes that testimony from Douglas very likely would not have saved Wilde, but the way Douglas abandoned him cut Wilde deeply. As The Guardian notes, Lord Alfred failed to make an appearance at Wilde's trial to defend him, and generally kept his distance. Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde can be considered as gay literature in the terms of the first and the second options. In short, Bosie got Wilde into his mess, made it worse, and then did nothing to help.īut what might have been the worst part of it for Wilde was the fact that his lover had betrayed him. That was a huge mistake, as it forced the Marquess to publicly prove his accusations - which was pretty easy because, as The Guardian relates, Bosie had left incriminating letters in the pockets of suits he'd given Wilde, and because Bosie refused to testify in Wilde's defense. He could have fled and waited for the storm to blow over, but Bosie urged him to go on the offensive, and so Wilde sued the Marquess for libel. When Bosie's powerful and deeply conservative father the Marquess of Queensberry, lost patience, he went to Wilde's club and left a card for him that read, "For Oscar Wilde, posing somdomite ," essentially outing Wilde for all to see at a time when being gay was very dangerous. ![]() Besides introducing Wilde to the underground world of gay prostitutes, the two engaged in a loud and impossible-to-ignore gay relationship that soon had tongues wagging. Wilde's affair with Bosie changed everything.
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