The Reception of Oscar Wilde in Europe

by Stefano Evangelista (Editor), Elinor Shaffer (Editor)

Overview

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) is now widely recognised not only as one of the most representative figures of the British fin de siècle, but as one of the most influential Anglophone authors of the nineteenth century. In Britain Wilde suffered a long period of comparative neglect following the scandal of his conviction for 'gross indecency' in 1895; and it is only recently that his works have been reassessed. But while Wilde was subjected to silence in Britain, he became a European phenomenon. His famous dandyism, his witticisms, paradoxes and provocations became the object of imitation and parody; his controversial aesthetic doctrines were a strong influence not only on decadent writers, but also on the development of symbolist and modernist cultures.

This collection of essays by leading international scholars and translators traces the cultural impact of Oscar Wilde's work across Europe, from the earliest translations and performances of his works in the 1890s to the present day.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781847060051
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	07/08/2010
Series:	The Reception of British and Irish Authors in Europe , #18
Pages:	381
Product dimensions:	6.70(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.70(d)

About the Author

Stefano Evangelista is Fellow and Tutor in English at Trinity College, Oxford, and Lecturer in English at the University of Oxford, UK. His book British Aestheticism and Ancient Greece:Hellenism, Reception, Gods in Exile (2009).

Table of Contents

Series Editor's Preface: The Reception of Oscar Wilde in Europe Elinor Shaffer vii

Acknowledgements xiii

List of Contributors xv

Abbreviations xx

Reception Timeline Paul Barnaby xxi

Performance Timeline Michelle Paull xxv

Introduction: Oscar Wilde: European by Sympathy Stefano Evangelista 1

1 Picturing His Exact Decadence: The British Reception of Oscar Wilde Joseph Bristow 20

2 Performance and Place: Oscar Wilde and the Irish National Interest Noreen Doody 51

3 The Artist as Aesthete: The French Creation of Wilde Richard Hibbitt 65

4 Naturalizing Oscar Wilde as an homme de lettres: The French Reception of Dorian Gray and Salomé (1895-1922) Emily Eells 80

5 André Gide's 'Hommage à Oscar Wilde' or 'The Tale of Judas' Victoria Reid 96

6 'Astonishing in my Italian': Oscar Wilde's First Italian Editions, 1890-1952 Rita Severi 108

7 'Children of Pleasure': Oscar Wilde and Italian Decadence Elisa Bizzotto 124

8 The Strange Adventures of Oscar Wilde in Spain (1892-1912) Richard A. Cardwell 141

9 The Reception of Wilde's Works in Spain through Theatre Performances at the Turn of the Twentieth and Twenty-first Centuries Marta Mateo 156

10 Tragedy and the Apostle of Beauty: The Early Literary Reception of Oscar Wilde in Germany and Austria Robert Vilain 173

11 Bunbury in Germany: Alive and Kicking Rainer Kohlmayer Lucia Krämer 189

12 When Critics Disagree, the Artist Survives: Oscar Wilde, an All-Time Favourite of the Viennese Stage in the Twentieth Century Sandra Mayer 203

13 Composing Oscar: Settings of Wilde for the German Stage Chris Walton 217

14 From Continental Discourse to 'A Breath from a Better World': Oscar Wilde and Denmark Lene Østermark-Johansen 229

15 An Ideal Situation? The Importance of Oscar Wilde's Dramatic Work in Hungary Mária Kurdi 245

16 Oscar Wilde and the Czech Decadence Zdenek Beran 256

17 The 'Byron of Kipling's England': Oscar Wilde in Croatia Irena Grubica 270

18 'Next to Christ': Oscar Wilde in Russian Modernism Evgenii Bershtein 285

Bibliography 301

Index 354

Editorial Reviews

"Evangelista and his contributors deepen scholarly understanding of Wilde's plays and their resonances in diverse European cultural contexts." --Years Work in English Studies, vol 91, no 1, 2012

From the Publisher

Evangelista and his contributors deepen scholarly understanding of Wilde's plays and their resonances in diverse European cultural contexts.

Years Work in English Studies