DISPLAY CASE
Wilde’s Prison Writings
Whilst imprisoned in Reading, Wilde wrote a lengthy letter to Lord Alfred Douglas recounting their friendship and his prison experiences. A heavily edited version of this letter was published after Wilde’s death as De Profundis (the editor, Wilde’s friend, Robert Ross, was drawing on the opening line of Psalm 129 – De profundis clamavi ad te Domine – “From the depths I have cried to Thee, O Lord”). Shown here is the first unexpurgated edition, published in 1949 with an introduction by Wilde’s son Vyvyan Holland.
Salomé - Aubrey Beardsley illustration
Reference: University of Reading, Special Collections Reserve 822.89_WIL (with UoR Spec Coll permission)
Although The Ballad of Reading Gaol was beautifully produced on quality paper, with print on only one side of each page, the prison writings lack the opulence of many of Wilde’s pre-prison publications. To mark the contrast, on display here is Wilde’s one-act play, Salomé. Written and first published in French, this is the first edition in English, brought out in 1893 by the avante garde publishers, Mathews and Lane, with eleven illustrations by Aubrey Beardsley.
Wilde wrote that the illustrations were “cruel and evil, and so like dear Aubrey.” But he was not entirely happy with Beardsley’s playful grotesqueries. Some of the drawings were deemed too freakish and erotically charged, and the artist was obliged to change three of them. The drawing shown here features Beardsley’s caricature of Wilde in the lower right corner.
The play went into production in London with Sarah Bernhardt in the title role in 1892, but the Lord Chamberlain refused to grant it a licence. Traditionally the Lord Chamberlain refused to allow the presentation of Biblical characters on stage, but the play was also daring in its exploration of decadent themes. It was finally produced in Paris in 1896, when Wilde was imprisoned in Reading. Richard Strauss would go on to base his opera on Wilde’s play.
Salomé – Text
Reference: University of Reading, Special Collections Reserve 822.89_WIL (with UoR Spec Coll permission)
Although The Ballad of Reading Gaol was beautifully produced on quality paper, with print on only one side of each page, the prison writings lack the opulence of many of Wilde’s pre-prison publications. To mark the contrast, on display here is Wilde’s one-act play, Salomé. Written and first published in French, this is the first edition in English, brought out in 1893 by the avante garde publishers, Mathews and Lane, with eleven illustrations by Aubrey Beardsley.
Wilde wrote that the illustrations were “cruel and evil, and so like dear Aubrey.” But he was not entirely happy with Beardsley’s playful grotesqueries. Some of the drawings were deemed too freakish and erotically charged, and the artist was obliged to change three of them. The drawing shown here features Beardsley’s caricature of Wilde in the lower right corner.
The play went into production in London with Sarah Bernhardt in the title role in 1892, but the Lord Chamberlain refused to grant it a licence. Traditionally the Lord Chamberlain refused to allow the presentation of Biblical characters on stage, but the play was also daring in its exploration of decadent themes. It was finally produced in Paris in 1896, when Wilde was imprisoned in Reading. Richard Strauss would go on to base his opera on Wilde’s play.
The Ballad of Reading Gaol - 7th Edition - Title page
Reference: University of Reading, Special Collections (with UoR Spec Coll permission)
Wilde wrote his Ballad of Reading Gaol shortly after his release, and it was published in 1898. The first six English editions were published as written by “C.3.3,” which was Wilde’s prison number. At publisher, Leonard Smithers’ suggestion, the seventh edition, published in 1899, and also shown here, was the first to give Wilde as the author.
Wilde referred to The Ballad as his “chant de cygne” or swan song, and he wrote virtually nothing afterwards. The poem, which was a plea for prison reform as well as a lamentation over the hanging of Trooper Woolridge, met with mixed reviews. But it sold very well, and some of its lines are now amongst the most familiar in English poetry.
The Ballad of Reading Gaol - 8th Edition with text
Reference: University of Reading, Speciall Collections Reserve 822.89-WIL (with UoR Spec Coll permission)
Wilde wrote his Ballad of Reading Gaol shortly after his release, and it was published in 1898. The first six English editions were published as written by “C.3.3,” which was Wilde’s prison number. At publisher, Leonard Smithers’ suggestion, the seventh edition, published in 1899, was the first to give Wilde as the author.
Wilde referred to The Ballad as his “chant de cygne” or swan song, and he wrote virtually nothing afterwards. The poem, which was a plea for prison reform as well as a lamentation over the hanging of Trooper Woolridge, met with mixed reviews. But it sold very well, and some of its lines are now amongst the most familiar in English poetry.