Oscar Wilde
1854–1900 · Irish (Dublin/London/Paris) · Victorian Era / Aesthetic Movement
Known for: The wittiest writer in English—The Importance of Being Earnest, The Picture of Dorian Gray
Oscar Wilde was a flamboyant aesthete who declared 'I have nothing to declare except my genius' at US customs. He was tall, charismatic, and deliberately outrageous. His plays—The Importance of Being Earnest, An Ideal Husband—are masterpieces of comic wit. The Picture of Dorian Gray explored vanity and moral corruption with prophetic insight.
He married and fathered two sons, then had a passionate affair with Lord Alfred Douglas. He was prosecuted for 'gross indecency' (homosexuality), convicted, and sentenced to two years' hard labor. Prison destroyed his health. He emerged broken, fled to Paris, and died at 46, reportedly saying 'Either that wallpaper goes, or I do.'
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