ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Drift off to sleep learning about Oscar Wilde, the most famous wit in the English language, and one of the most beloved figures in LGBTQ+ history. Born in Dublin on October 16, 1854, to surgeon Sir William Wilde and the poet "Speranza," Oscar conquered Oxford, lectured across America in 1882, married Constance Lloyd, told fairy tales like The Happy Prince to his sons, and filled London's West End with The Picture of Dorian Gray, Lady Windermere's Fan, An Ideal Husband, and The Importance of Being Earnest, which opened in a snowstorm on Valentine's Day 1895 at the peak of his fame. Four days later the Marquess of Queensberry, father of Wilde's lover Lord Alfred "Bosie" Douglas, left a misspelled card at his club. Wilde's doomed libel suit led to his arrest at the Cadogan Hotel and two trials for "gross indecency," where his speech defending "the love that dare not speak its name" drew applause from the public gallery. Convicted May 25, 1895, he served two years' hard labour, writing De Profundis in Reading Gaol as prisoner C.3.3. He died in Paris on November 30, 1900, with Robbie Ross at his side, the devoted friend who paid off his debts, moved him to Père Lachaise beneath Jacob Epstein's winged monument, and in 1950 was laid inside the tomb beside him. Today the tomb sits behind glass to protect it from thousands of lipstick kisses, and in January 2017 Wilde was posthumously pardoned under the Alan Turing law.
Tonight's story is told twice, first at a natural pace, then again slowly with longer pauses to carry you gently into sleep. Along the way you'll sit in a Dublin salon, watch snow fall over a glowing London theatre, find the stars through a high cell window, and walk the golden evening avenues of Père Lachaise.
🌙 Perfect for: sleep, relaxation, LGBTQ+ history, queer literary history, bedtime stories for adults, gay history, mindful rest
☕ Restful Rainbow is independent and listener-supported. If these stories help you rest, you can support the show here: https://restful-rainbow.captivate.fm/support
💜 Subscribe for more LGBTQ+ history sleep stories, and tell us in the comments: what's your favorite Wilde line?
Related episodes:
- The Gentle Genius: Alan Turing
- Michelangelo's Secret Love
- John Addington Symonds
- The Unfolding Garden: André Gide
"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." — Oscar Wilde, Lady Windermere's Fan (1892)
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