# The Invention of Oscar Wilde

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- Book: [The Invention of Oscar Wilde](https://www.bookquiver.com/nicholas-frankel/the-invention-of-oscar-wilde) ([The Invention of Oscar Wilde.md](https://www.bookquiver.com/nicholas-frankel/the-invention-of-oscar-wilde.md))
- Authors: [Nicholas Frankel](https://www.bookquiver.com/nicholas-frankel)
- Publisher: Reaktion Books
- ISBN: 978-17-8914-414-7
- Pages: 288
- Published: 2021-05-17
- Language: en_US
- Binding: Hardcover

## Description

‘One should either wear a work of art, or be a work of art’, Wilde once declared. In The Invention of Oscar Wilde, Nicholas Frankel explores Wilde’s self-creation as a ‘work of art’ and a carefully constructed cultural icon. Frankel 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, 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, as well as his marriage and affairs with a series of attractive young men, including his great love Lord Alfred Douglas. A compelling account of Wilde’s life and influence on both Victorian Britain and twentieth-century culture.