Oscar Wilde's last stand

decadence, conspiracy, and the most outrageous trial of the century

1st North American ed.
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Last edited by MARC Bot
July 13, 2024 | History

Oscar Wilde's last stand

decadence, conspiracy, and the most outrageous trial of the century

1st North American ed.
  • 0 Ratings
  • 2 Want to read
  • 0 Currently reading
  • 0 Have read

The Billing trial's beginnings can be traced to the moment British authorities finally permitted a staging of Wilde's play Salome. American beauty Maud Allan was to dance the lead.

So outraged was Noel Pemberton Billing, a member of Parliament and self-appointed guardian of family values, that he denounced Allan in the right-wing newspaper Vigilante as a member of the "Cult of the Clitoris." Billing was convinced that the "Cult of Wilde" - a catchall for anyone guilty of degeneracy and perversion, in his eyes - had infected the land. Of that, Billing maintained, he had proof: a black book containing the names of 47,000 members of the British establishment who without doubt were members of the Cult of Wilde was in the hands of the Germans.

Threat of exposure was costing England the war.

Maud Allan sued Billing for libel, and the trial that followed held the world in thrall. Was there or was there not a black book? What names did it contain? The Billing trial was both hugely entertaining - never had scandal and social prominence been so deliciously juxtaposed - and deadly serious. As in Oscar Wilde's own trial in 1895 (which also took place at the Old Bailey), libel was hardly the issue; the fight was for control over the country's moral compass.

In Oscar Wilde's Last Stand, biographer and historian Philip Hoare gives us the full drama of the Billing trial, gavel to gavel, and brings to life this unique, bizarre, and spell-binding event.

Publish Date
Publisher
Arcade Pub.
Language
English
Pages
250

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Previews available in: English

Edition Availability
Cover of: Oscar Wilde's Last Stand
Cover of: Oscar Wilde's Last Stand
Oscar Wilde's Last Stand: Decadence, Conspiracy, and the Most Outrageous Trial of the Century
2017, Skyhorse Publishing Company, Incorporated
in English
Cover of: Oscar Wilde's Last Stand
Oscar Wilde's Last Stand: Decadence, Conspiracy, and the Most Outrageous Trial of the Century
2011, Skyhorse Publishing Company, Incorporated
in English
Cover of: Oscar Wilde's Last Stand
Oscar Wilde's Last Stand: Decadence, Conspiracy, and the Most Outrageous Trial of the Century
2011, Skyhorse Publishing Company, Incorporated
in English
Cover of: Oscar Wilde's Last Stand
Oscar Wilde's Last Stand: Decadence, Conspiracy, and the Most Outrageuos Trial of the Century
2011, Skyhorse Publishing Company, Incorporated
in English
Cover of: Oscar Wilde's last stand
Oscar Wilde's last stand: decadence, conspiracy, and the most outrageous trial of the century
1998, Arcade Pub.
Hardcover in English - 1st North American ed.
Cover of: Oscar Wilde's last stand

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Book Details


Edition Notes

Includes bibliographical references (p. 232-240) and index.

Published in
New York

Classifications

Dewey Decimal Class
345.41/0256
Library of Congress
KD373.B54 H63 1998

The Physical Object

Format
Hardcover
Pagination
vi, 250 p. :
Number of pages
250

ID Numbers

Open Library
OL703274M
Internet Archive
oscarwildeslasts00hoar
ISBN 10
1559704233
LCCN
97052311
OCLC/WorldCat
38206663
Library Thing
30416
Goodreads
822242

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History

Download catalog record: RDF / JSON / OPDS | Wikipedia citation
July 13, 2024 Edited by MARC Bot import existing book
November 26, 2020 Edited by MARC Bot import existing book
May 19, 2019 Edited by MARC Bot import existing book
December 11, 2016 Edited by Darby Edited without comment.
April 1, 2008 Created by an anonymous user Imported from Scriblio MARC record