342: The Trials of Oscar Wilde: Downfall and Prison (Part 2)
It’s 1895, and with the libel case brought against the Marquess of Queensbury having collapsed, Oscar Wilde is now arrested and charged with committing acts of “gross indecency”. With former lovers, hotel servants and chambermaids lining up to give evidence, and the evening papers, night after night full of scandalous allegations, turning the general public against him, Wilde must now face a trial brought about through his own poor judgement. In this second episode on the trials of Oscar Wilde, Tom and Dominic explore Wilde’s downfall, his time in jail, and his final years.
“The truth is rarely pure and never simple.” As his most popular work, "The Importance of Being Earnest", hints at, Oscar Wilde’s life was a complicated one. Perhaps the most famous gay martyr in hist…