Oscar Wilde
Wilde lived most of his life as a celebrity writer and socialite. His
works sold very well and he was a sought after literary
personality. He had extravagant tastes in all good things of life.
However, he was jailed for homosexuality at the height of his
career and the legal fees from the incident forced him into
bankruptcy. After his imprisonment, he received a small yearly
allowance from the estate of his deceased wife but received no
help from his former wealthy lover Lord Alfred Douglas. During
his last days, he lived in poverty in Paris, wandering around
aimlessly spending what little cash he had, on alcohol. In
November 1900, he died penniless in the Hôtel d’Alsace in Paris
where he had made his famous statement a few months earlier:
“My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One or other
of us has got to go.”
Today Oscar Wilde is remembered as a genius wit, one of the
cleverest men in history and a brilliant writer, poet and playwright.
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