The Invention of Oscar Wilde

"Frankel explores Wilde's self-creation as a work of art and a carefully constructed cultural icon. [He] takes readers on a journey through Wilde's inventive, provocative life from his Irish origins-and their public erasure-through his challenges to traditional concepts of masculinity and male sexuality, his marriage and his affairs with young men, including his great love Lord Alfred Douglas, to his criminal conviction and final years of exile in France. Along the way, Frankel takes a deep look at Wilde's writings, paradoxical wit, and intellectual convictions"-