Super Short Summary

Oscar Wilde by Richard Ellmann is a 1969 biography that explores the life and work of the English poet, playwright, and aesthetician Oscar Wilde. Drawing on Wilde's letters and private writings, Ellmann offers new insights into his major works and situates Wilde within the context of fin de siècle art. The biography details Wilde's rise to fame, his struggles as a homosexual man, and his tragic downfall and death at forty-six. The book includes discussions of sexually transmitted infections and social ostracism.