Oscar Wilde's Scandalous Summer: THE 1894 WORTHING HOLIDAY AND THE AFTERMATH.

UK,8vo HB+dw/d,1st edn.FINE/FINE.No owner inscrptn and no price-clip to dw/dj.Bright,crisp,clean,glossy laminated,colour tinted+monochrome montage'd photographic illustrated dw/dj panels,with dark+light blue and black lettering; with negligible shelf-wear and creasing to edges and corners - no major nicks or tears present.A small closed tear to top,front edge of dw/dj,in vicinity of front panel's spine/backstrips's gutter's edge. Top+fore-edges bright and clean; contents bright,tight,clean,solid and sound - near pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners,appears unread - apart from my own collation.Bright,crisp,clean, sharp-cornered,publisher's original plain black cloth boards with bright, crisp,stamped gilt letters to spine/backstrip and immaculate plain white emdpapers.UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,8-224pp [paginated] includes an introduction,8 chapters,32pp of 19thC contemporary b/w scenic+ biographical photographs and some similar illus,street maps,all in 1 block,between pp96/7,notes,appendices (A-I),sources of illustrations, acknowledgements,and an index; plus [unpaginated] half-title+title pages and contents list/table. In the summer of 1894 Oscar Wilde spent eight weeks in Worthing,and it was during this family holiday that he wrote his masterpiece,'The Importance of Being Earnest.' The Worthing holiday was a microcosm of Wilde's turbulent life during the three years between his falling in love with Lord Alfred Douglas in 1892 and his imprisonment in 1895. Constance Wilde,lonely and depressed,became emotionally involved with her husband's publisher,to whom she wrote a love letter on the day he visited the Wildes in Worthing.Meanwhile Wilde was spending much of his time with the feckless and demanding Douglas,and with three teenage boys he took out sailing,swimming and fishing. One of these boys was Alphonse Conway,with whom Wilde had a sexual relationship, and about whom he was to be questioned at length and to damaging effect in court six months later when he sued Douglas's father, the Marquess of Queensberry,for libel.This book tells for the first time the full story of the Worthing summer,set in the context of the three years of Wilde's life before his downfall.In the final chapter the author reassesses the trials,offering fresh insights into Wilde's attitude to the boys and young men with whom he had sexual relations.There are fifty-six illustrations,over thirty of which are photographs of Worthing as it was in Wilde's time,and three contemporary maps of the town.The first 16 pages of the illustrations consist of portraits of the main protagonists in the Oscar Wilde story; two pages from letters; and images of buildings, locations and events closely associated with the summer of 1894. The buildings include the only four buildings in Worthing that we know Wilde spent time inside - the Haven; the Marine Hotel; the Assembly Rooms; and the pavilion at the sea end of the pier.None of these buildings survive.Most of the photographs in the second section date from within a dozen years or so of Oscar Wilde's visit in 1894,and,except where noted,all show the town just as he knew it.The photographs are arranged in a strict geographical sequence,starting at the Esplanade at the eastern end of Worthing,and proceeding along Brighton Road and Warwick Street; down South Street to the pier; and then a few hundred yards west along the seafront.The three maps of 1896 are reproduced to help readers of this book - especially those that visit modern Worthing - to identify the locations of Wilde's time. Since April 2013.again in March 2015,and in this year too,the UK Post Office has altered it's Pricing in Proportion template,altering it's prices, weight allowances,dimensions and lowered it's qualifying compensation rates too! So,please contact rpaxtonden@blueyonder.co.uk ,because of the weight/value of this item for correct,insured shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page!