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harvio's review against another edition
4.0
- from the jacket: "Merlin Holland has produced a gripping and fascinating volume that entirely supercedes previous accounts of that Queensberry Trial...it gives us, for the first time, a real sense of how Wilde spoke in conversation...Behind the arrogance there no doubt lay nerves, and a tangle of other feelings - the same feelings that had led him {Wilde} to embark on the libel action in the first place. And at some level he seems to have been seeking out his own doom: it is what raises his fate above cause celebre and endows it with the quality of tragedy."
- "...as good as being in the gallery." an observation with which I entirely agree
- "...as good as being in the gallery." an observation with which I entirely agree
bek_parsons's review
challenging
informative
relaxing
slow-paced
3.5
This book does what it says on the tin - it is the transcript of Wilde’s first trial, and as fascinating as it is to hear his words reach out to you through history, sometimes the formality of the trial makes the book lag a bit. An interesting and engaging read for anyone interested in Wilde or queer history.
kikiandarrowsfishshelf's review against another edition
3.0
Unless you have been living undera rock (and if you are, can I join you?) there is whole primary election thing happening here in the U.S. In short, the media tells everyone who to vote for, and every so often a group of people vote for someone different. This person is usually strange and makes the media know it alls stupids plundits scratch thier heads. This is done so the chances of electing someone who know what he/she is doing is small.
At the very least, it does lead to debates that are as amusing as they are depressing or shocking in the stupidity of talking heads. In one of the more recent debates, the moderators, in particular, and, therefore, the candiates seemed obessessed with the idea of homosexual marriage. I'm not sure why, maybe so the homophobicjerk candiate would say something insulting to remind everyone why they voted him out of office in the greatest landslide in history. (They were also focusing on birth control for some reason).
The point here is that dispite all our advances as human beings, when you read something like this book, dated from over 100 years ago (the trial not the book), you realize we haven't really come that far.
It's enough to make you take to drinking.
Wilde declared his brillance, yet like all brillant people he fell due to a huge step in stupidity (perhaps making up for something). It is hard not to read this and keep quiet. You want to shout "Objection" "Stop talking!" "Let Stephen Fry do it". "Shut up Oscar!" "I don'care if he looked like Jude Law, be quiet".
Sadly he doesn't listen.
If you like Wilde, you should read this transcript of the first trial, the starting point for his jail time and the destruction of his life.
At the very least, it does lead to debates that are as amusing as they are depressing or shocking in the stupidity of talking heads. In one of the more recent debates, the moderators, in particular, and, therefore, the candiates seemed obessessed with the idea of homosexual marriage. I'm not sure why, maybe so the homophobic
The point here is that dispite all our advances as human beings, when you read something like this book, dated from over 100 years ago (the trial not the book), you realize we haven't really come that far.
It's enough to make you take to drinking.
Wilde declared his brillance, yet like all brillant people he fell due to a huge step in stupidity (perhaps making up for something). It is hard not to read this and keep quiet. You want to shout "Objection" "Stop talking!" "Let Stephen Fry do it". "Shut up Oscar!" "I don'care if he looked like Jude Law, be quiet".
Sadly he doesn't listen.
If you like Wilde, you should read this transcript of the first trial, the starting point for his jail time and the destruction of his life.
themadhatton's review against another edition
3.0
Not much can be said about this book apart from the fact it is wholly what it appears to be. The transcripts are fascinating and at many points vividly entertaining, but they are still transcripts.
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