Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was born in 1854 in Dublin. His father was the eminent surgeon Sir William Wilde and his mother a literary hostess who was also known as a writer under her pen name 'Speranza'. Studying classics first at Trinity College in Dublin before going on to Magdalen College, Oxford, Wilde proved to be a brilliant scholar, winning the Newdigate Prize for his poem 'Ravenna'. While at Oxford his flamboyant appearance and conspicuous espousal of aestheticism - art for art's sake - attracted great attention, much of it hostile. With is talent, wit, charm and instinct for publicity Wilde soon became a familiar name in the literary world, as much for his conversational skills as for his writing. His first collection, Poems, was published in 1881 shortly before he embarked on a one-year lecture tour of North America. Arriving in New York, Wilde is recorded as saying, 'I have nothing to declare but my genius' - one of the many idioms attributed to him.

After his marriage to Constance Lloyd in 1884 he published several books of stories for children, originally written for his own sons. Lord Arthur Savile's Crime appeared shortly before his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891). After 1890 Wilde had increasing success on stage with his shrewd and sparkling comedies, Lady Windermere's Fan (1892), A Woman of No Importance (1893), An Ideal Husband (1895) and his masterpiece, The Importance of Being Earnest (1895). Wilde's last play, Salomé, written in French, was refused a licence in London but was later adapted as an opera by Richard Strauss. Translated by Wilde's close friend Lord Alfred Douglas ('Bosie'), it later appeared for publication in England. Douglas's father, the Marquess of Queensberry, strongly disapproved of his son's friendship with the notorious playwright, and after he publicly insulted Wilde a quarrel ensued which eventually led to Wilde's imprisonment in 1894 for homosexual offences. He was sentenced to two years' imprisonment with hard labour, which left him on his release bankrupt and weakened. Relying on the generosity of friends, he went to live in France, adopting the name of Sebastian Melmoth. While here he wrote his famous poem, The Ballad of Reading Gaol. Wilde died in exile in France in 1900. Letters he had written to Lord Alfred while in prison were published in 1905 under the title De Profundis.

When The Picture of Dorian Gray first appeared in 1890 it was greated not with praise but scandalized protest; Wilde's own Preface to the book, containing the line 'There is no such thing as a moral or immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all,' proved the best retort.