Wilde's Women: How Oscar Wilde Was Shaped by the Women He Knew
by Eleanor Fitzsimons 
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A remarkable book... the breadth and depth of research is astonishing' - Emma Thompson 'An illuminating study... fascinating' - Independent Hailed as a gay icon and pioneer of individualism, Oscar Wilde's insistence that 'there should be no law for anybody' made him a staunch defender of gender equality. Throughout his life from his relationship to his extraordinary mother Jane and the tragedy of his sister Isola's early death to his accomplished wife Constance and a coterie of other show more free-thinking writers, actors and artists, women were a central aspect of his life and career. Wilde's Women is the first book to tell the story of his female friends and colleagues who traded witticisms with Wilde but also give him access to vital publicity and whose ideas he gave expression through his social comedies. Author Eleanor Fitzsimons reframes Wilde's story and his legacy through the women in his life including such fascinating figures as Florence Balcombe who left him for Bram Stoker, actress Lillie Langtry (for a while an inseparable friend) and his tragic and witty niece Dolly who bore a strong resemblance to the writer and loved fast cars, cocaine and foreign women. Full of fascinating detail and anecdotes Wilde's Women relates the untold story of how the writer played a vitally sympathetic role on behalf of many women and how they supported him in the midst of a Victorian society in the process of changing forever. AUTHOR: Eleanor Fitzsimons is a researcher, writer, journalist and occasional broadcaster specialising in historical and current feminist issues. Her work has been published in a range of news papers and journals including the Sunday Times, the Guardian and the Irish Times and she is a regular radio and television contributor. show lessTags
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2 Works 104 Members
Eleanor Fitzsimons is a researcher, writer, journalist, and occasional broadcaster specializing in feminist issues. Her work has been published in a range of newspapers and journals including the Sunday Times, Guardian, and Irish Times, and she is a regular radio and television contributor.
Eleanor Fitzsimons is a LibraryThing Author, an author who lists their personal library on LibraryThing.
Awards and Honors
Awards
Common Knowledge
- People/Characters
- Oscar Wilde; Jane Wilde; Lillie Langtry; Ellen Terry; Sarah Bernhardt; Jennie Churchill (show all 10); Frances Hodgson Burnett; Marie Corelli; Ouida; Ada Leverson
Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, Literature Studies and Criticism, Biography & Memoir
- DDC/MDS
- 828.809 — Literature & rhetoric English & Old English literatures English miscellaneous writings 1837-1899 Individual authors
- LCC
- PR5823 — Language and Literature English English Literature 19th century , 1770/1800-1890/1900
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 46
- Popularity
- 648,514
- Rating
- (3.83)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 6
- ASINs
- 2
