Prison Notes (Athena Thinkers Series)

Author: Oscar Wilde
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2007-08-24
Features: The whisper of a poet's soul, the final cry of an aesthete, a collection that has sold over 20 million copies worldwide. Wilde's comedies still make audiences roar with laughter a century later. His witty sayings are still frequently quoted, bringing smiles that feel timely and never dated. For a hundred years, his biographies have continued to appear, guiding curious readers from Dublin to Oxford, from London to Paris, to revisit the real and illusory world of this Irish genius. This self-proclaimed "Irish peacock who owns nothing but genius," while in prison, rubbing rough hemp rope and wiping his tears as he wrote this long letter to his homosexual friend Douglas, was still immersed in flowers and applause, witty conversations, and the fragrance of lilies. He had tasted all the sweet fruits of life, flying freely—or so he believed—among the spirits in heaven, and now he knew his genius could also bring him a spiritual hell. Reading such works may not bring admiration for his genius, but rather sympathy for a true genius, and a deeper understanding of the fickle nature of the Fates.