The portrait of Mr. W. H. /
Oscar Wilde
- 118 pages : illustrations, portraits, facsimiles ; 20 cm
During a conversation about literary forgeries, Erskine tells his young guest that he has received as a legacy from a friend, the Cambridge scholar Cyril Graham what is purported to be an Elizabethan portrait. The painting depicts a beautiful young man in late-sixteenth-century costume, whom Graham claimed to be Willie Hughes, a boy-actor serving in Shakespeare's company. This prompts Erskine's guest to delve deeper into the mystery surrounding the real identity of the dedicatee and the inspiration of Shakespeare's Sonnets, with unforeseen consequences. This is an engaging and entertaining narrative exploring the intricate facets of trust and betrayal, historical truth and fiction, written with Wilde's trademark dialogical sharpness and stylistic perfection.
9781847497512 RM47.90
Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 --Fiction--Dramatic production