|
by: Louis Edwards
List Price: $24.00Amazon.com's Price: $6.99 You Save: $17.01 (71%)Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Binding: Hardcover
Format: Bargain Price
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 304
Publication Date: February 18, 2003
Sales Rank: 1378274
Editorial Review:
Product Description:
In January 1882, Oscar Wilde arrived in New York to begin a nationwide publicity tour. Mentioned in a few newspaper articles -- but barely a footnote in the history books -- was the black valet who accompanied him. In a daring and richly imaginative work, Louis Edwards rescues this figure from obscurity, blurring the line between fact and fiction as he follows Wilde and his gifted confidant, Traquair, on a whirlwind tour across the country, from high-society Newport to art-conscious San Francisco to the Deep South.
Edwards's brilliantly conjured Wilde astounds the New World with his eloquent lectures and larger-than-life presence, while Traquair delights in the greatest year of his youth: losing his virginity in a Washington, D. C., brothel; meeting Jefferson Davis in Mississippi; falling hopelessly in love in St. Louis; and learning about his own family's secret history. Juxtaposed with Traquair's experiences are those of his Caucasian best friend, Baxter, who travels to England and becomes enmeshed in a circle of luminaries including Lady Wilde, James Whistler, Lillie Langtry, and Wilde's future wife, Constance Lloyd.
Combining seductive, epigrammatic language and a unique perspective on class and race in late-nineteenth-century America, Oscar Wilde Discovers America builds to a surprising climax that offers a chilling forecast of the tragic destiny of Wilde and a stunning redefinition of the American spirit.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Travel moved him
I kept hearing (and singing to myself) the first line of the Jimmy Buffett song that starts "Oscar Wilde died in bed, several floors above my head" every time I picked up this book.
A poignantly funny book that will inspire me to read more of and more about Oscar Wilde, the flamboyant and ultimately self-destructive "Aesthete", this book fleshes out in fiction the sketchy historical mentions of a black valet who traveled with Wilde through the US in 1882. Wilde is secondary to William ... Read More
Rating:  - Left me wishing for more Wilde
Louis Edwards does a wonderful job of capturing the America of the late 19th century, particularly as seen through the eyes of Oscar Wilde. Using Wilde's actual lecture tour of America as the basis for his novel, Edwards captures the rhythm and tone of Wilde's speech and his commentaries are very much in character. It is through Edwards' preoccupation with Wilde's valet, Traquair that the novel comes up a bit short. As the story is told through Traquair, we have to participate in his "coming of age" ... Read More
Rating: - Interesting idea, good writing
This novel is actuallly not really about Oscar Wilde as much as it is about a black valet who accompanied him on his tour of America. The story is of an educated black man's discovery of himself in the late nineteenth century. I was intrigued by the concept, which is why I bought the book. Honestly, I didn't have much hope for the writing before I got into it but it was really pretty decent. Edwards to a very good job of capturing Oscar Wilde's quick wit and the characters are well developed. The ... Read More
Rating:  - Rediculous
The idea that Mr Wilde discovered America is clearly too absurd to warrant a novel which anybody will find plausible. This book is offensive to the descendants of Christopher Columbus. Mr Wilde never did anything of any note other than write some unfunny plays and get himself thrown in prison. Avoid.
Rating: - Great Concept, Good Storytelling
What a great idea -- to focus on the black valet who accompanied Wilde on his great American speaking tour in the early 1880s. Edwards does a passable job explicating this premise, and in the process explores race and class relationships in America, as he takes the reader on a wild ride through late 19th Century America.
Don't buy this historical fiction if you want all Wilde, all the time, the story is really about the valet, a proud, handsome, educated free black who faced withering racism ... Read More
|
