#oscar-wilde

#oscar-wilde

The Oscar Wilde that entered Napoleon Sarony's New York studio in 1882 was fresh-faced, yet to pen the plays and singular novel that would make his name. But he was no unknown quantity. As captured by the photographer, Wilde was an aesthetic: his outfit of velvet jacket, silk knee breeches, and slippers crowned with grosgrain bows cutting the figure of a dandy who had captivated London society with his keen wit.

Funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund will support the conservation and reopening of the original dock from Court No.2 at Bow Street Magistrates' Court - the place where Wilde appeared following his arrest in April 1895, ahead of his trial at the Old Bailey for "gross indecency". His prosecution and imprisonment would become one of the most notorious legal cases of the Victorian era, symbolising the criminalisation of same-sex relationships in Britain.

Oscar had been in Pentonville prison for three weeks when his ticket to the British Museum Reading Room was cancelled, so he wouldn't have known about it, which was probably as well. I think it would have just added to his misery to feel that one of the world's great libraries had banned him from books just as the Law had banned him from daily life. But the restitution of his ticket is a lovely gesture of forgiveness and I'm sure his spirit will be touched and delighted.

When private property is abolished, there will be no necessity for crime. In Vera; or, The Nihilists, Vera Sabouroff leads a band of nihilists.

At the peak of Pride month, has 'Love is love' been replaced with 'Don't save for a hat'? We see fewer queer individuals marrying compared to straight couples.

"I'd come to the end of my record contract, and I have a bit more breathing space to try a few different things and not feel, oh, well I have to deliver an album to my record label."

Oscar Wilde's influence looms large in Cutthroat, with lead singer Charlie Steen reflecting on the paradoxical nature of life: 'Life's far too important to be taken seriously.'