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Oscar Wilde discovers America : a novel

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Status	Format	Access	Call Number	Item Location
Request for On-site Use Request Scan How do I pick up this item and when will it be ready?	Text	Request in advance	PS3555.D945 O83 2003	Off-site

Description

287 pages; 24 cm

Summary

"In January 1882, Oscar Wilde arrived in New York to begin a nationwide publicity tour. Mentioned in a few newspaper articles - but barely a footnote in the history books - was the black valet who accompanied him.
In a daring and richly imaginative world, Louis Edwards rescues this figure from obscurity, blurring the line between fact and fiction as he follows Wilde and his gifted confidant, Traquair, on a whirlwind tour across the country, from high-society Newport to art-conscious San Francisco to the Deep South.".
"Edwards's brilliantly conjured Wilde astounds the New World with his eloquent lectures and larger-than-life presence, while Traquair delights in the greatest year of his youth: losing his virginity in a Washington, D. C., brothel; meeting Jefferson Davis in Mississippi; falling hopelessly in love in St Louis; and learning about his own family's secret history.
Juxtaposed with Traquair's experiences are those of his Caucasian best friend, Baxter, who travels to England and becomes enmeshed in a circle of luminaries including Lady Wilde, James Whistler, Lillie Langtry, and Wilde's future wife, Constance Lloyd."--BOOK JACKET.

Subjects

Genre/Form

Biographical fiction.

Bibliography (note)

ISBN

0743236890

LCCN

2002030879

OCLC

Owning Institutions

Columbia University Libraries