Selected Poems

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) was born in Dublin, the son of a surgeon and a poet. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin and Magdalen College, Oxford, where he won the Newdigate poetry prize.
In 1884 he married Constance Llyod, and in 1888 he published "The Happy Prince". His only novel, "The Picture of Dorian Gray", appeared in 1890. He had major comedy successes in the theatre until he was ruined by imprisonment for homosexual offences in 1895. "The Ballad of Reading Gaol" (1898) was inspired his experience in prison.
"This volume contains a few poems which are taken from 'manuscript' sources, including 'O Golden Queen of life and joy', 'Desespoir', 'Pan : Double Villanelle' and 'La Circassienne'. These are taken from transcriptions of manuscripts which remained unpublished during Wilde's lifetime. These copies were made in 1908 by Walter Ledger, friend of Robert Ross and Stuart Mason who were working on the Collected Edition of Wilde's works at this time.

Titre original : Selected Poems