Oscar Wilde's Crucifix

A Biographical Experiment

By: Maarten Asscher

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Paperback | 27 August 2025

At a Glance

Paperback
224 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
20.9 x 13.9 x 1.27

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While a student at Oxford, Oscar Wilde was courting a beautiful Dublin girl, Florence Balcombe, and on Christmas Day 1876 he presented her with a love gift of a golden crucifix. Two years later, Florence surprised Oscar by suddenly marrying another young writer from Dublin, Bram Stoker, the future author of Dracula.

Dutch writer Maarten Asscher uses that crucifix as a fulcrum to examine Wilde’s early development as an artist, from a seminal trip to Greece to his whirlwind tour of America and beyond, including real-life encounters with Walt Whitman and Arthur Conan Doyle. Asscher draws on the complete panoply of Wilde scholarship to supplement historical fact with imaginative reconstruction, including a myth-busting account of Wilde’s deathbed in Paris, and a fictional solution to the mystery of the crucifix delivered by none other than Sherlock Holmes. The result is a convincing and original interpretation of Victorian history, and a literary tour de force.

Industry Reviews

Praise for Previous Works

"Beautiful, poignant literature" - De Groene Amsterdammer

"Asscher writes compellingly, pointedly and yet empathetically" - De Morgen

"Melancholic and erudite" - De Reactor

"Ingenious and eloquent"- De Volkskrant

"Stylistically strong novel, full of detailed descriptions and wonderfully flowing sentences" - Cutting Edge

"Asscher brings his youth to life with precision. Valuable family book" - Algemeen Dagblad

"In addition to being witty and original, sometimes also very confrontational." - NRC Handelsblad

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