Oscar Wilde: A Certain Genius

Rating:
Summary: Not Wilde About It
Review: Barbara Belford's biography is well-illustrated and quotes its subject profusely, yet I came away with the feeling it tried to hard to prove a theory of Wilde rather than to explore him. The author discusses her reservations about Ellmann's biography of Wilde, and complains in her foreword that recent biographies have "take[n] specialist views: ... the Irish Wilde, the gay Wilde..." Yet she does exactly that, and seems to want to make up for Ellman's "reticence" in discussing Wilde's sexuality by placing it at instead the center of this work. As if Ellmann's Wilde was perhaps not gay enough for some, Belford's is overwhelmingly so; this has the (unintended?) effect of minimizing the importance of Wilde's wife Constance and his children. Wilde's homosexual passions are cast as the sole source of his inspiration, and it is suggested that he wanted to assert his right to live as he chose. In fact, the opposite appears true. By prosecuting Queensberry, Wilde was in essence asserting his right to stay legally and publicly in the closet. Once he had been forced in court to accept that Queensberry was "entitled to call him a posing sodomite", Wilde hardly seems to have accepted the title with enthusiasm or pride, as he himself makes clear in the opening of De Profundis.

Overall I'd say it was a pleasant enough read for those already familiar with its subject, but I would hesitate to recommend it to Wilde novices: the man was more complex than he is ultimately portrayed here, and one almost gets the impression the writer dislikes her subject. It leaves the taste of an exposé.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Read About A Compelling Subject and His Times
Review: Every ten to twenty years there should be a new biography of Oscar Wilde.

This book is a good look at Oscar Wilde as seen and, perhaps, judged, from our times. Unlike older biographies, his social life is brought out much more.

The book is a good addition to any Wilde fan's library. Some uncommon anecdotes will be found.

Rating:
Summary: No Spirit, Not Even a Breath!
Review: I reached for this volume for a refreshing change of pace from this dreary, political and social state of things. Alas, there was no such lift to be had in this volume. The story was all there, the good times and the bad but the tone was too dark. I'll wager that most people who reach for his biography are less intrigued by the history as they are by the precision bite of his words. Indeed, this seems more of a latter life work. We are given a front row seat to the repressive consequences for his flaunting conservative standards about sexuality. The details were complete and appropriately credited. But the theatrics were missing. That novel charge so often haughty and sharp lost that rippling propulsion that has succeeded over time. As a unashamed Victorian homosexual, Wilde was well ahead of his time. The question is, was he ahead of our time as well? there can be no doubt that Wilde's tongue can wag and delight contemporary readers and theater goers. However that voice and pen, used with sizzling, frenetic arrogance is sadly, not at home in this bio.

Rating:
Summary: Middle of the Road Approach to Flamboyant Playright's Life
Review: Ms. Bedford made no pretention to focusing upon a particular aspect of Oscar Wilde's life. Rather, she intended to offer a truly unbiased volume of carefully researched biographical information regarding Wilde and his societal surroundings. Many other readers have criticized the work for its seeming lack of spirit and depth. Ms. Bedford did not wish to offer such things, however. It is the duty of the reader to take the work and make one's own opinions regarding Wilde's life. Such a practice is rarely performed in modern times since the reading public are so very used to being told what to like - an attitude Wilde fought so much against. The volume meets the standard set by the author in the introduction, as well as the standards of biographies of its kind. It is, on the whole, a very good work.

Rating:
Summary: Middle of the Road Approach to Flamboyant Playright's Life
Review: Ms. Bedford made no pretention to focusing upon a particular aspect of Oscar Wilde's life. Rather, she intended to offer a truly unbiased volume of carefully researched biographical information regarding Wilde and his societal surroundings. Many other readers have criticized the work for its seeming lack of spirit and depth. Ms. Bedford did not wish to offer such things, however. It is the duty of the reader to take the work and make one's own opinions regarding Wilde's life. Such a practice is rarely performed in modern times since the reading public are so very used to being told what to like - an attitude Wilde fought so much against. The volume meets the standard set by the author in the introduction, as well as the standards of biographies of its kind. It is, on the whole, a very good work.

Rating:
Summary: OSCAR WILDE: A CERTAIN GENIUS
Review: OSCAR WILDE; A CERTAIN GENIUS, is a great read. Barbara Belford does an excellent job explaining Wilde's success and his self-destruction. Her book is filled with anecdotes about and insights into Wilde's brilliance and his impact on Britain in the last decades of the nineteenth century. OSCAR WILDE should appeal to those readers who want Oscar plain (if that's possible) as opposed to a footnote driven academic study. Enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Painstakingly researched, but....
Review: Since Ellmann's definitive biography of Oscar Wilde, no book on Wilde has been as meticuously researched and evenly reported as Barbara Belford's new work. From the moment I read her author's query in the New York Times Book Review a few years ago, I anticipated its publication, and was not disappointed.

I learned some new, anecdotal information from this book, even after my twenty-eight years of studying and collecting all that is Wilde. Those discoveries brought this reader much joy.

The only criticisms I have of this book are minor. Someone with a keener eye should have proofread the manuscript for awkward grammatical phrasings. Also there was a passion for Wilde missing in the author's voice that I, as a Wilde fanatic, wanted to hear. But it is to Belford's credit and background as a biographer that her tone is unbiased. I believe her work on Bram Stoker informed this biography and afforded the opportunity for unearthed details which give this book its verve and value.