Constance

by Franny Moyle

Overview

In the spring of 1895 the life of Constance Wilde changed irrevocably. Up until the conviction of her husband Oscar for homosexual crimes, she had held a privileged place in society. Part of a gilded couple, she was a popular children’s author, a fashion icon and a leading campaigner for women’s rights. Mrs. Oscar Wilde was a phenomenon in her own right. But that spring Constance’s entire life was eclipsed by scandal. Forced to flee to the Continent with her two sons, her glittering literary and political career ended abruptly. Changing her name, she lived in exile until her death. Franny Moyle now tells Constance’s story with a fresh eye and remarkable new material. Drawing on numerous unpublished letters, she brings to life the story at the heart of fin-de-siecle London and the Aesthetic Movement.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781639360239
Publisher:	Pegasus Books
Publication date:	11/15/2021
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	400
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Franny Moyle has a degree in English and History of Art from St John's College, Cambridge, and is the author of Desperate Romantics. She was a leading arts producer at the BBC, which culminated in her becoming the corporation's first Commissioner for Arts and Culture, and is now a freelance writer in London.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements ix

Introduction 1

1 The sins of the parents… 13

2 Terribly bad taste 29

3 The sunflower and the lily 49

4 'Bunthorne is to get his bride' 73

5 Violets in the refrigerator 89

6 Ardour and indifference 106

7 A literary couple 126

8 'Not to kiss females' 146

9 Qui patitur vincit 164

10 My own darling mother 184

11 A dark bitter forest 208

12 Modern-day Martha 232

13 The strife of tongues 266

14 Madame Holland 285

15 Life is a terrible thing 302

Epilogue 322

Notes 329

Select bibliography 354

Illustration acknowledgements 358

Index 359

Editorial Reviews

Filling a gap in literary biography, this meticulous account of the life of Constance Mary Lloyd and her marriage to Oscar Wilde proves revealing, if cumbersome. Moyle (Desperate Romantics) perfunctorily reviews Lloyd’s upbringing and devotes most of the book to her life with Oscar. Clearly wishing to correct a historically misbegotten view of their relationship, Moyle steadfastly chronicles the love and artistic and creative energy that “the literary couple” shared, from their work together for Woman’s World (a magazine Wilde edited) to the possibility of their collaboration on work that Wilde published under his name. Moyle leads the reader through Lloyd’s spiritual and political pursuits as a liberal married mother in Victorian London, and the frazzled grace with which she attempted to retain a semblance of decent life for herself and her two sons after Wilde’s imprisonment. Refreshingly, Moyle resists the temptation to let Wilde overtake the story even as Wilde’s behavior dictates much of Lloyd’s situation. The book drags, however, particularly in its middle third, as the names of characters and organizations in Lloyd’s life pile up and become a catalogue of facts, rather than a narrative. Still, Moyle has produced a mostly fascinating portrait of a smart, fierce, and misunderstood woman. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly

An illuminating biography.

Colm Toibin - London Review of Books

Powerful, absorbing and, well, rather jolly.

The Sunday TImes (London)

Ms.
Moyle is a strong advocate for her subject. She notes that Oscar's fairy tales center on themes of devotion and self-sacrifice, themes by which Constance lived her life.

The Wall Street Journal

Powerful and absorbing.

Sunday Times

Riveting. Moyle captures vividly the texture and color of this vital world.

Independent on Sunday

An illuminating biography.

London Review of Books - Colm Toibin

Powerful, absorbing and, well, rather jolly.

The Sunday Times (London)

A beautiful and clever young woman from a well-off but dysfunctional family, Constance Lloyd insisted on marrying the already-famous Oscar Wilde in 1884, despite rumors that Wilde had homosexual tendencies. At first they both seemed happy, furnishing their home and beginning a family. But shortly after their second son, Vyvyan, was born, Oscar began spending more time away, often with handsome young men. After his trial and conviction for sodomy and gross indecency in 1895, Constance remained loyal, visiting him in prison, even offering to take him back. He refused her, preferring his lover, Lord Alfred Douglas, after his release. Both died in separate exile, she at age 39 after a botched operation and Wilde two years later in Paris. VERDICT Moyle (Desperate Romantics) does not see Constance as the long-suffering victim that she is often depicted to be. Instead, drawing on over 300 unpublished letters, Moyle presents a compelling portrait of a bright, capable, trendsetting woman who wrote children's books, participated in the women's suffrage movement, and dabbled in spiritualism. This first biography of Constance Wilde will appeal to readers interested in Oscar Wilde's family life and the role of women in fin de siècle London.—Nancy R. Ives, SUNY at Geneseo

Library Journal

The little-known Constance Lloyd Wilde had some years of surpassing happiness with her gifted, controversial husband before scandal overwhelmed everything. Former BBC arts producer Moyle (Desperate Romantics: The Private Lives of the Pre-Raphaelites, 2009) has a difficult task: keeping the focus on Constance when Oscar's flamboyance, fame and flameout are so riveting. Mostly, she succeeds. The author begins in 1895 at a moment of great success and crisis: Oscar had two hits in the West End, but the scandal of his homosexuality was erupting, which would send him to prison for two years, destroy his reputation and career, and send his wife and two sons into exile to the continent, where they changed their surnames to Holland. After this emotional "teaser" of an opening, Moyle returns to tell the stories of her principals. Constance, whose wealthy father died when she was still a teen, suffered from her mother's verbal and physical abuse. Nonetheless, she emerged as a bright, attractive, talented young woman whom Oscar met via her brother. Oscar, Moyle reminds us, had already lost one young woman--to Bram Stoker. Moyle carefully charts their courtship, marriage and parenthood. Initially, the Wildes were popular in society and helped each other in their work. Oscar was practicing journalism and writing poetry; Constance was involved in various women's causes and wrote stories and essays. All looked well. Then…Lord Alfred "Bosie" Douglas. Oscar's sexual passion for him consumed them all. Moyle shows us a bright, trusting woman who remained devoted even in some of the darkest hours. Juicy literary history. The Wildes' stories would have silenced the Prince in Romeo and Juliet, who said there "never was a story of more woe."

Kirkus Reviews