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The Ballad of Reading Gaol is a poem by Oscar Wilde, written in exile either in Berneval or in Dieppe, France, after his release from Reading Gaol on or about 19 May 1897. Wilde had been incarcerated in Reading, after being convicted of homosexual offences in 1895 and sentenced to two years' hard labour in prison.
During his imprisonment, on Saturday 7 July 1896, a hanging took place. Charles Thomas Wooldridge (ca. 1866 – 7 July 1896) had been a trooper in the Royal Horse Guards. He was convicted of cutting the throat of his wife, Laura Ellen, earlier that year at Clewer, near Windsor. He was only aged 30 when executed. This had a profound effect on Wilde, inspiring the line "Yet each man kills the thing he loves."
The finished poem was published by Leonard Smithers in 1898 under the name C.3.3., which stood for cell block C, landing 3, cell 3. This ensured that Wilde's name – by then notorious – did not appear on the poem's front cover. It was not commonly known, until the 7th printing in June 1899, that C.3.3. was actually Wilde.
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Edition Notes
Strachan, W.J. Artist and the book in France, p. 209 and 335.
"Cette édition de 'La ballade de la geôle de Reading' d'Oscar Wilde se compose d'une suite de XXV burins détourés d'Abram Krol, précédée par le texte original ainsi que par la transcription française. Le tirage a été limité à 75 exemplaires, soit: 5 exemplaires comprenant chacun 3 cuivres ... [etc.], marqués de A à E inclus, 10 exemplaires contenant chacun 1 cuivre .. [etc.], numérotés de I à X inclus, 60 exemplaires, numérotés de l à 60 inclus"--Colophon.
Issued in loose bifolia and plates, in a paper cover, in a slipcase.
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- Created April 1, 2008
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September 30, 2020 | Edited by MARC Bot | import existing book |
March 11, 2010 | Edited by WorkBot | add editions to new work |
April 1, 2008 | Created by an anonymous user | Imported from Scriblio MARC record |