Overview

The story of the woman at the center of the most famous scandal of the nineteenth century. In the spring of 1895 the life of Constance Wilde changed irrevocably. Up until the conviction of her husband, Oscar, for homosexual crimes, she had held a privileged position in society. Part of a gilded couple, she was a popular children's author, a fashion icon, and a leading campaigner for women's rights. A founding member of the magical society the Golden Dawn, her pioneering and questioning spirit encouraged her to sample some of the more controversial aspects of her time. Mrs. Oscar Wilde was a phenomenon in her own right. But that spring Constance's entire life was eclipsed by scandal. Forced to flee to the Continent with her two sons, her glittering literary and political career ended abruptly. She lived in exile until her death. Franny Moyle now tells Constance's story with a fresh eye. Drawing on numerous unpublished letters, she brings to life the story of a woman at the heart of fin-de-siecle London and the Aesthetic movement. In a compelling and moving tale of an unlikely couple caught up in a world unsure of its moral footing, Moyle unveils the story of a woman who was the victim of one of the greatest betrayals of all time.

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[An] entrancing biography. Moyle's account, the first to draw on more than three hundred of Constance's unpublished letters, is delightful, sad, and entirely convincing; her last chapters reduced this hardened reader to tears. -- The Guardian (London) In her gripping new book, Franny Moyle reclaims Constance from the closet out of which Oscar so splendidly and yet so disastrously emerged. Wilde's reputation has long since been restored. In her wonderful book, Moyle resets the balance, gloriously. -- The Times (London) Ms. Moyle is a strong advocate for her subject. She notes that Oscar's fairy tales center on themes of devotion and self-sacrifice, themes by which Constance lived her life. -- Wall Street Journal Powerful and absorbing. -- Sunday Times (London)

Author Information

Franny Moyle is a British television producer and author. Her first book, Desperate Romantics, was adapted into the BBC drama serial of the same title. Her second book, Constance: The Tragic and Scandalous Life of Mrs. Oscar Wilde, was published in 2011 to critical acclaim. In 2016 she released Turner: The Extraordinary Life and Momentous Times of J.M.W. Turner. The King's Painter: The Life of Hans Holbein was published in 2021.

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