The Wildes

In this singularly powerful novel,bestselling author Louis Bayard brings Oscar Wilde’s wife Constance and two sons out from the shadows of history and creates a vivid and poignant story of secretslossand love. In September of 1892Oscar Wilde and his family have retreated to the idyllic Norfolk countryside for a holiday. His wifeConstancehas every reason to be happy: two beautiful sonsher own work as an advocate for feminist causesand a delightfully charming and affectionate husband and father to her childrenwho also happens to be the most sought-after author in England. But with the arrival of an unexpected houseguestthe aristocratic young poet Lord Alfred DouglasConstance gradually–and then all at once–comes to see that her husband’s heart is elsewhere and that the growing intensity between the two men threatens the whole foundation of their lives. The Wildes: A Novel in Five Acts takes readers on the emotional journey of this familymoving from the Italian countrysidewhere Constance Wilde flees from the aftermath of Oscar’s imprisonment for homosexualityto the trenches of World War I and an underground bar in London’s Sohowhere Oscar’s sons Cyril and Vyvyan must both grapple with their father’s legacy. And in a brilliant feat of the imaginationact 5 reunites the entire cast in a surprisingpoignantand tremendously satisfying tableau. With Louis Bayard’s trademark sparkling dialogue and deep insight into the lives and longings of all his charactersThe Wildes could almost have been created by Oscar Wilde himself. Lightly told but with hidden depthsit is an entertaining and dramatic story about the human condition. \