The definitive biography of Lord Alfred Douglas, the lover of Oscar Wilde and 'the other man' in the renowned scandal, by the acclaimed author of The Strange Death of Europe and The Madness of Crowds. With a new Foreword and revised Introduction.
Lord Alfred Douglas, known as 'Bosie', son of the Marquess of Queensberry, was known as one of the most beautiful young men of his generation. Aged twenty-one he met and became the lover and subsequent obsession of Oscar Wilde.
Their relationship caused a scandal in 1895 when Wilde took Queensberry, Douglas's aggressive father, to court for libel. When the details of their relationship were aired in court, Wilde was convicted of gross indecency and later imprisoned.
Wilde's story is well known, but this is the first book to tell it fully from Douglas's perspective. Written, and originally published in 2000, with access to never-before-seen papers, Bosie explores the contradictions, tensions and turmoils of Douglas's life with Wilde and beyond as a poet, husband and father.
This compelling biography uncovers the life of one of the most notorious figures in literary history, and its course from gilded beautiful youth to semi-reclusive outcast, at the time of Douglas's death in 1945.
About the Author
Born in 1979, Douglas Murray attended St. Benedict's School, London and was a junior at the Royal Academy of Music for two years. He was also a chorister at St. Margaret's, Westminster Abbey. Later, he won a music and academic scholarship to Eton where he wrote an essay on Oscar Wilde which won him the school literary prize. He researched this essay at Magdalen College, Oxford where is currently in his first year, reading English under Professor John Fuller.
Industry Reviews
'A superb biography ... full of compassion, perception'
Roger Lewis, The Times
'I love this book. Douglas Murray is a genius'
Rupert Everett