After Oscar: The Legacy of a Scandal by Merlin Holland

Description

A scandal. A legacy. And a story that refused to stay buried.

In After Oscar: The Legacy of a Scandal, Merlin Holland—grandson of Oscar Wilde—unearths the turbulent afterlife of one of literature’s most brilliant and controversial figures. While Wilde’s dazzling career and devastating downfall are well known, what followed in the decades after his death is a story just as gripping—and far less often told.

When Wilde died in exile in 1900, his reputation lay in ruins, shaped by scandal, imprisonment, and public condemnation. But reputations, like ghosts, have a way of returning.

Blending memoir, biography, and cultural history, Holland traces the long and often contentious journey of Wilde’s legacy through the twentieth century and beyond. From sensationalized rumors and moral panic to gradual rediscovery and celebration, the book reveals how shifting social attitudes—and persistent prejudices—reshaped Wilde’s place in literary and cultural history.

With sharp insight, wit, and a deeply personal connection, Holland exposes the hypocrisy of institutions that once condemned Wilde while later embracing his genius. Along the way, he paints a vivid portrait of a family navigating both the burden and the brilliance of a name forever tied to scandal and artistry.

Insightful, provocative, and richly told, After Oscar is both a tribute and a reckoning—an exploration of how history remembers, forgets, and ultimately reclaims those it once cast aside.

Book Details
Author: Merlin Holland
Format: Hardcover
Publication Date: April 7, 2026
ISBN: 9798889661764