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Reinterpreting Wilde: An Interview With Oscar Wilde's Grandson
From: The British Library
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Merlin Holland |
EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION |
The legacy of Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) is complex and contradictory: dismissed in the early part of the twentieth century as a lightweight dramatist, sexual deviant and a bankrupt, he was recast as a radical genius and martyr for homosexual rights in the latter part of the twentieth century. But who is the real Oscar Wilde? Speaking from his home, Wilde's grandson, Merlin Holland, here offers unique insight into the shifting aspects of his grandfather's character. What sort of morality can we assign to Wilde? Was he a radical or a conformist within the Victorian era? Was he a literary heavyweight, or do we really admire him for his "sparkling superficiality"? Wilde is one of the most widely translated and respected modern authors, and the first great media-made figure of our age, but is his legacy really just a triumph of style over substance? |
Merlin Holland discusses evolving critical and social reactions to Oscar Wilde and his work.
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