Lord Alfred Douglas
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Lord Alfred Bruce Douglas (22 October 1870 – 20 March 1945), also known as Bosie Douglas, was an English poet and journalist, and a lover of
Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...
. At
Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
he edited an undergraduate journal, ''The Spirit Lamp'', that carried a
homoerotic Homoeroticism is sexual attraction between members of the same sex, either male–male or female–female. The concept differs from the concept of homosexuality: it refers specifically to the desire itself, which can be temporary, whereas "homose ...
subtext, and met Wilde, starting a close but stormy relationship. Douglas's father, the
Marquess of Queensberry Marquess of Queensberry is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. The title has been held since its creation in 1682 by a member of the Douglas family. The Marquesses also held the title of Duke of Queensberry from 1684 to 1810, when it was in ...
, abhorred it and set out to humiliate Wilde, publicly accusing him of homosexuality. Wilde sued him for criminal
libel Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...
, but some intimate notes were found and Wilde was later imprisoned. On his release, he briefly lived with Douglas in Naples, but they had separated by the time Wilde died in 1900. Douglas married a poet,
Olive Custance Olive Eleanor Custance (7 February 1874 – 12 February 1944), also known as Lady Alfred Douglas, was an English poet and wife of Lord Alfred Douglas. She was part of the aesthetic movement of the 1890s, and a contributor to '' The Yellow ...
, in 1902 and had a son, Raymond. On converting to
Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
in 1911, he repudiated homosexuality, and in a High-Catholic magazine, ''Plain English'', expressed openly anti-Semitic views, but rejected the policies of
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
. He was jailed for libelling
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
over claims of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
misconduct. Douglas wrote several books of verse, some in a homoerotic
Uranian Uranian may refer to: __NOTOC__ Sexuality *Uranian (sexology), a historical term for homosexual men * Uranians, a group of male homosexual poets Astronomy *Uranian, of or pertaining to the planet Uranus * Uranian system, refers to the 27 moons ...
genre. The phrase "
The love that dare not speak its name The love that dare not speak its name is a phrase from the last line of the poem "Two Loves" by Lord Alfred Douglas, written in September 1892 and published in the Oxford magazine '' The Chameleon'' in December 1894. It was mentioned at Oscar Wilde ...
" appears in one, ( ''Two Loves''), though it is widely misattributed to Wilde.


Early life and background

Douglas was born at Ham Hill House in
Powick Powick is a village and civil parish in the Malvern Hills District, Malvern Hills district of Worcestershire, England, located two miles south of the city of Worcester, England, Worcester and four miles north of Great Malvern. The parish include ...
,
Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...
, the third son of
John Douglas, 9th Marquess of Queensberry John Sholto Douglas, 9th Marquess of Queensberry (20 July 184431 January 1900), was a British nobleman, remembered for his atheism, his outspoken views, his brutish manner, for lending his name to the " Queensberry Rules" that form the basis of ...
and his first wife, Sibyl Montgomery. He was his mother's favourite child; she called him Bosie (a derivative of "boysie", as in boy), a nickname which stuck for the rest of his life. His mother successfully sued for divorce in 1887 on the grounds of his father's adultery. The Marquess later married Ethel Weeden in 1893 but the marriage was annulled the following year. Douglas was educated at
Wixenford School Wixenford School, also known as Wixenford Preparatory School and Wixenford-Eversley, was an independent preparatory school for boys near Wokingham, founded in 1869. A feeder school for Eton, after it closed in 1934 its former buildings were ...
,
Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...
(1884–88) and
Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...
(1889–93), which he left without obtaining a degree. At
Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, he edited an undergraduate journal, ''The Spirit Lamp'' (1892–3), an activity that intensified the constant conflict between him and his father. Their relationship had always been a strained one and, during the Queensberry-Wilde feud, Douglas sided with Wilde, even encouraging Wilde to prosecute the Marquess for libel. In 1893, Douglas had a brief affair with George Ives. In 1858 his grandfather,
Archibald Douglas, 8th Marquess of Queensberry Archibald William Douglas, 8th Marquess of Queensberry PC (18 April 1818 – 6 August 1858), styled Viscount Drumlanrig between 1837 and 1856, was a British Conservative Party politician. He notably served as Comptroller of the Household betwe ...
, had died in what was reported as a shooting accident, but was widely believed to have been suicide. In 1862, his widowed grandmother, Lady Queensberry, converted to
Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
and took her children to live in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
.Lady Florence Dixie
at Spartacus-Educational.com (accessed 26 February 2019)
One of his uncles, Lord James Douglas, was deeply attached to his twin sister "Florrie" ( Lady Florence Douglas) and was heartbroken when she married a baronet, Sir Alexander Beaumont Churchill Dixie. In 1885, Lord James tried to abduct a young girl, and after that became ever more manic; in 1888, he made a disastrous marriage.Douglas, Murray, ''Bosie: A Biography of Lord Alfred Douglas''
Chapter One
online at nytimes.com (accessed 8 March 2008).
Separated from Florrie, James drank himself into a deep depression, and in 1891 committed suicide by cutting his throat. Another of his uncles,
Lord Francis Douglas Lord Francis William Bouverie Douglas (8 February 1847 – 14 July 1865) was a novice British mountaineering, mountaineer. After sharing in the first ascent of the Matterhorn, he died in a fall on the way down from the summit. Early life Born ...
(1847–1865) had died in a climbing accident on the
Matterhorn The (, ; it, Cervino, ; french: Cervin, ; rm, Matterhorn) is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the main watershed and border between Switzerland and Italy. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the ...
. His uncle Lord Archibald Edward Douglas (1850–1938) became a clergyman. Alfred Douglas's aunt, Lord James's twin
Lady Florence Dixie Lady Florence Caroline Dixie (née Douglas; 25 May 18557 November 1905) was a Scottish writer, war correspondent, and feminist. Her account of travelling ''Across Patagonia'', her children's books ''The Young Castaways'' and ''Aniwee; or, The ...
(1855–1905), was an author, war correspondent for the ''
Morning Post ''The Morning Post'' was a conservative daily newspaper published in London from 1772 to 1937, when it was acquired by ''The Daily Telegraph''. History The paper was founded by John Bell. According to historian Robert Darnton, ''The Morning Po ...
'' during the
First Boer War The First Boer War ( af, Eerste Vryheidsoorlog, literally "First Freedom War"), 1880–1881, also known as the First Anglo–Boer War, the Transvaal War or the Transvaal Rebellion, was fought from 16 December 1880 until 23 March 1881 betwee ...
, and a
feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
. In 1890, she published a novel, ''Gloriana, or the Revolution of 1900'', in which
women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...
is achieved after a woman posing as a man named Hector D'Estrange is elected to the House of Commons. The character D'Estrange is clearly based on Oscar Wilde.Heilmann, Ann, ''Wilde's New Women: the New Woman on Wilde'' in Uwe Böker, Richard Corballis, Julie A. Hibbard, ''The Importance of Reinventing Oscar: Versions of Wilde During the Last 100 Years'' (Rodopi, 2002) pp. 135–147, in particular p. 139.


Relationship with Wilde

In 1891, Douglas's cousin
Lionel Johnson Lionel Pigot Johnson (15 March 1867 – 4 October 1902) was an English poet, essayist, and critic (although he claimed Irish descent and wrote on Celtic themes). Life Johnson was born in Broadstairs, Kent, England in 1867 and educated at Win ...
introduced him to
Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...
; they soon began an affair. In 1894, the Robert Hichens novel ''
The Green Carnation ''The Green Carnation'' is a novel by Robert Hichens that was first published anonymously in 1894. A satire on contemporary champions of the Aesthetic Movement, it was withdrawn briefly after the scandal of the Oscar Wilde trial in the foll ...
'' was published, a ''
roman à clef ''Roman à clef'' (, anglicised as ), French for ''novel with a key'', is a novel about real-life events that is overlaid with a façade of fiction. The fictitious names in the novel represent real people, and the "key" is the relationship be ...
'' depicting satirically Douglas's dependent relationship on Wilde. Douglas has been described as spoiled, reckless, insolent and extravagant. He would spend money on boys and gambling and expected Wilde to contribute to funding his tastes. They often argued and broke up, but would always be reconciled. Douglas had praised Wilde's play '' Salome'' in the Oxford magazine ''The Spirit Lamp'', of which he was editor (and used as a covert means of gaining acceptance for homosexuality). Wilde had originally written ''Salomé'' in French, and in 1893 he commissioned Douglas to translate it into English. Douglas's French was very poor and his translation was highly criticised; for example, a passage that runs "''On ne doit regarder que dans les miroirs''" ("One should look only in mirrors") he rendered "One must not look at mirrors". Douglas was angered at Wilde's criticism, and claimed that the errors were in fact in Wilde's original play. This led to a hiatus in the relationship and a row between both of them, with angry messages being exchanged and even the involvement of the publisher John Lane and the illustrator
Aubrey Beardsley Aubrey Vincent Beardsley (21 August 187216 March 1898) was an English illustrator and author. His black ink drawings were influenced by Woodblock printing in Japan, Japanese woodcuts, and depicted the grotesque, the decadent, and the erotic. He ...
when they themselves objected to the poor standard of Douglas's work. Beardsley complained to
Robbie Ross Robert Baldwin Ross (25 May 18695 October 1918) was a Canadian-British journalist, art critic and art dealer, best known for his relationship with Oscar Wilde, to whom he was a devoted friend and literary executor. A grandson of the Canadian ...
: "For one week the numbers of telegraph and messenger boys who came to the door was simply scandalous". Wilde redid much of the translation himself, but in a gesture of reconciliation suggested that Douglas be dedicated as the translator rather than credited, along with him, on the title page. Accepting this, Douglas, vainly, likened a dedication to sharing the title page as "the difference between a tribute of admiration from an artist and a receipt from a tradesman". In 1894, Douglas came and visited Oscar Wilde in Worthing, to the consternation of the latter's wife Constance. On another occasion, while staying with Wilde in
Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
, Douglas fell ill with influenza and was nursed by Wilde, but failed to return the favour when Wilde himself fell ill having caught influenza in consequence. Instead Douglas moved to the luxurious
Grand Hotel A grand hotel is a large and luxurious hotel, especially one housed in a building with traditional architectural style. It began to flourish in the 1800s in Europe and North America. Grand Hotel may refer to: Hotels Africa * Grande Hotel Beir ...
and on Wilde's 40th birthday sent him a letter informing him that he had charged Wilde with the hotel bill. Douglas also gave his old clothes to male prostitutes, but failed to remove from the pockets incriminating letters exchanged between him and Wilde, which were then used for blackmail.''Oscar Wilde'' by Richard Ellman, published in 1987. Alfred's father, the Marquess of Queensberry, suspected the liaison to be more than a friendship. He sent his son a letter, attacking him for leaving Oxford without a degree and failing to take up a proper career. He threatened to "disown lfredand stop all money supplies." Alfred responded with a telegram rudely stating: "What a funny little man you are." Queensberry's next letter threatened his son with a "thrashing" and accused him of being "crazy". He also threatened to "make a public scandal in a way you little dream of" if he continued his relationship with Wilde. Queensberry was well known for his short temper and threatening to beat people with a horsewhip. Alfred sent his father a postcard stating "I detest you" and making it clear that he would take Wilde's side in a fight between him and the Marquess, "with a loaded revolver". In answer Queensberry wrote to Alfred (whom he addressed as "You miserable creature") that he had divorced Alfred's mother so as not to "run the risk of bringing more creatures into the world like yourself" and that when Alfred was a baby, "I cried over you the bitterest tears a man ever shed, that I had brought such a creature into the world, and unwittingly committed such a crime.... You must be demented." Douglas's eldest brother Francis Viscount Drumlanrig died in a suspicious hunting accident in October 1894, as rumours circulated that he had been having a homosexual relationship with the Prime Minister,
Lord Rosebery Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, 1st Earl of Midlothian, (7 May 1847 – 21 May 1929) was a British Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from March 1894 to June 1895. Between the death of ...
, and that the cause of death was suicide. The Marquess of Queensberry thus embarked on a campaign to save his other son and began a public persecution of Wilde. Wilde had been openly flamboyant and his actions made the public suspicious even before the trial. The Marquess and a bodyguard confronted the playwright in his own home; later, Queensberry planned to throw rotten vegetables at Wilde on the first night of ''
The Importance of Being Earnest ''The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People'' is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at the St James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious ...
'', but forewarned of this, Wilde was able to deny him access to the theatre. Queensberry then publicly insulted Wilde by leaving at the latter's club a
visiting card A visiting card, also known as a calling card, is a small card used for social purposes. Before the 18th century, visitors making social calls left handwritten notes at the home of friends who were not at home. By the 1760s, the upper classes in ...
on which he had written, "For Oscar Wilde posing as a somdomite ". The wording is in dispute – the handwriting is unclear – although Hyde reports it as this. According to
Merlin Holland Christopher Merlin Vyvyan Holland (born December 1945) is a British biographer and editor. He is the only grandchild of Oscar Wilde, whose life he has researched and written about extensively. Biography Born in London in December 1945, Christop ...
, Wilde's grandson, it is more likely "Posing somdomite", while Queensberry himself claimed it to be "Posing as somdomite". Holland suggests that this wording ("posing s...") would have been easier to defend in court.


1895 trials

In response to the card and with Douglas's avid support, but against the advice of friends such as
Robbie Ross Robert Baldwin Ross (25 May 18695 October 1918) was a Canadian-British journalist, art critic and art dealer, best known for his relationship with Oscar Wilde, to whom he was a devoted friend and literary executor. A grandson of the Canadian ...
,
Frank Harris Frank Harris (14 February 1855 – 26 August 1931) was an Irish-American editor, novelist, short story writer, journalist and publisher, who was friendly with many well-known figures of his day. Born in Ireland, he emigrated to the United State ...
and
George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...
, Wilde had Queensberry arrested and charged with criminal
libel Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...
in a
private prosecution A private prosecution is a criminal proceeding initiated by an individual private citizen or private organisation (such as a prosecution association) instead of by a public prosecutor who represents the state. Private prosecutions are allowed in ma ...
, as
sodomy Sodomy () or buggery (British English) is generally anal or oral sex between people, or sexual activity between a person and a non-human animal ( bestiality), but it may also mean any non- procreative sexual activity. Originally, the term ''sodo ...
was then a criminal offence. According to the libel laws of the time, since his authorship of the charge of sodomy was not in question, Queensberry could avoid conviction by demonstrating in court not only that the charge he had made was factually true, but that there was also some public interest in having made the charge public.
Edward Carson Edward Henry Carson, 1st Baron Carson, Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, PC, Privy Council of Ireland, PC (Ire) (9 February 1854 – 22 October 1935), from 1900 to 1921 known as Sir Edward Carson, was an Unionism in Ireland, Irish u ...
, Queensberry's lawyer, accordingly portrayed Wilde as a vicious older man who habitually preyed upon naive young boys and with extravagant gifts and promises of a glamorous lifestyle seduced them into a life of homosexuality. Several highly suggestive erotic letters that Wilde had written to Douglas were introduced as evidence; Wilde claimed they were works of art. Wilde was questioned closely on the homoerotic themes in ''
The Picture of Dorian Gray ''The Picture of Dorian Gray'' is a philosophical fiction, philosophical novel by Irish writer Oscar Wilde. A shorter novella-length version was published in the July 1890 issue of the American periodical ''Lippincott's Monthly Magazine''.''Th ...
'' and '' The Chameleon'', a single-issue magazine published by Douglas to which Wilde had contributed "Phrases and Philosophies for Use of the Young". Queensberry's attorney announced in court that he had located several male prostitutes who were to testify that they had had sex with Wilde. Wilde's lawyers advised him that this would make a conviction on the libel charge very unlikely; he then dropped the libel charge, on his lawyers' advice, to avoid further pointless scandal. Without a conviction, the libel law of the time left Wilde liable to pay Queensberry's considerable legal costs, leaving him
bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debt ...
. Based on the evidence raised during the case, Wilde was arrested the next day and charged with committing criminal
sodomy Sodomy () or buggery (British English) is generally anal or oral sex between people, or sexual activity between a person and a non-human animal ( bestiality), but it may also mean any non- procreative sexual activity. Originally, the term ''sodo ...
and " gross indecency", a crime capable of being committed only by two men, which might include sexual acts other than sodomy. Douglas's September 1892 poem " Two Loves" (published in the Oxford magazine ''The Chameleon'' in December 1894) was used against Wilde at the latter's trial. It ends with the famous line that calls homosexuality ''
the love that dare not speak its name The love that dare not speak its name is a phrase from the last line of the poem "Two Loves" by Lord Alfred Douglas, written in September 1892 and published in the Oxford magazine '' The Chameleon'' in December 1894. It was mentioned at Oscar Wilde ...
'', which is often attributed wrongly to Wilde. Wilde gave an eloquent but counter-productive explanation of the nature of this love on the witness stand. The trial resulted in a
hung jury A hung jury, also called a deadlocked jury, is a judicial jury that cannot agree upon a verdict after extended deliberation and is unable to reach the required unanimity or supermajority. Hung jury usually results in the case being tried again. T ...
. In 1895, when Wilde was released on bail during his trials, Douglas's cousin
Sholto Johnstone Douglas Robert Sholto Johnstone Douglas (3 December 1871 – 10 March 1958), known as Sholto Douglas, or more formally as Sholto Johnstone Douglas, was a Scottish figurative artist, a painter chiefly of portraits and landscapes. In 1895, he stood su ...
stood
surety In finance, a surety , surety bond or guaranty involves a promise by one party to assume responsibility for the debt obligation of a borrower if that borrower defaults. Usually, a surety bond or surety is a promise by a surety or guarantor to pay ...
for £500 of the bail money. The prosecutor opted to retry the case. Wilde was convicted on 25 May 1895 and sentenced to two years' hard labour, first at
Pentonville Pentonville is an area on the northern fringe of Central London, in the London Borough of Islington. It is located north-northeast of Charing Cross on the Inner Ring Road. Pentonville developed in the northwestern edge of the ancient parish ...
, then
Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan The London Plan is the statutory spatial development strategy for the Gre ...
, then famously in
Reading Gaol HM Prison Reading, popularly known as Reading Gaol, is a former prison located in Reading, Berkshire, England. The prison was operated by His Majesty's Prison Service until its closure at the start of 2014. It is a Grade II listed building and ...
. Douglas was forced into exile in Europe. While in prison, Wilde wrote Douglas a long and critical letter entitled '' De Profundis'', describing exactly how he felt about him. Wilde was not permitted to send it, but it may or may not have been sent to him after Wilde's release: it was given to Robbie Ross with instructions to make a copy and send the original to Lord Alfred Douglas. Lord Alfred Douglas later said that he received only a letter from Ross with a few choice quotations and didn't know there was a letter until reference was made to it in a biography of Wilde's on which Ross had consulted. After Wilde's release on 19 May 1897, the two reunited in August at
Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...
, but stayed together only a few months due to personal differences and various pressures on them.


Naples and Paris

The meeting in Rouen was disapproved of by the friends and families of both men. During the later part of 1897, Wilde and Douglas lived together in Naples, but they separated due to financial pressures and for other personal reasons. Wilde spent the rest of his life mainly in Paris; Douglas returned to Britain in late 1898. The cohabitation period in Naples later became controversial. Wilde claimed Douglas had offered a home, but had no funds or ideas. When Douglas eventually gained funds from his late father's estate, he refused to grant Wilde a permanent allowance, although he gave him occasional sums. Wilde was still bankrupt when he died in 1900. Douglas served as chief mourner, but there was reportedly a graveside altercation between him and Robbie Ross that developed into a feud and foreshadowed the later litigation between the two former lovers of Wilde.


Marriage

After Wilde's death, Douglas made a close friendship with
Olive Custance Olive Eleanor Custance (7 February 1874 – 12 February 1944), also known as Lady Alfred Douglas, was an English poet and wife of Lord Alfred Douglas. She was part of the aesthetic movement of the 1890s, and a contributor to '' The Yellow ...
, a
bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...
heiress and poet. They married on 4 March 1902. Olive Custance was in a relationship with the writer Natalie Barney when she and Douglas first met. Barney and Douglas eventually became close friends and Barney was named godmother to their son, Raymond Wilfred Sholto Douglas, born on 17 November 1902. The marriage grew stormy after Douglas became a
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
in 1911. They separated in 1913, lived together for a time in the 1920s after Custance also converted, and then lived apart after she gave up her Catholicism. The health of their only child further strained the marriage, which by the end of the 1920s was all but over, although they never divorced.


Repudiation of Wilde

In 1911, Douglas embraced Roman Catholicism as Wilde had done earlier. More than a decade after Wilde's death, with the release of suppressed portions of Wilde's ''De Profundis'' letter in 1912, Douglas turned against his former friend, whose homosexuality he grew to condemn. He was a defence witness in the libel case brought by
Maud Allan Maud Allan (born as either Beulah Maude Durrant or Ulah Maud Alma Durrant;Birthname given as Ulah Maud Alma DurrantMcConnell, Virginia A. ''Sympathy for the Devil: The Emmanuel Baptist Murders of Old San Francisco'', University of Nebraska Pr ...
against
Noel Pemberton Billing Noel Pemberton Billing (31 January 1881 – 11 November 1948), sometimes known as Noel Pemberton-Billing, was a British aviator, inventor, publisher and Member of Parliament for Hertford. He founded the firm that became Supermarine and promoted ...
in 1918. Billing had accused Allan, who was performing Wilde's play '' Salome'', of being part of a deliberate homosexual conspiracy to undermine the war effort. Douglas also contributed to Billing's journal ''Vigilante'' as part of his campaign against Robbie Ross. He had written a poem calling
Margot Asquith Emma Margaret Asquith, Countess of Oxford and Asquith (' Tennant; 2 February 1864 – 28 July 1945), known as Margot Asquith, was a British socialite, author. She was married to H. H. Asquith, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1894 ...
one "bound with Lesbian fillets", while her husband Prime Minister
Herbert Herbert may refer to: People Individuals * Herbert (musician), a pseudonym of Matthew Herbert Name * Herbert (given name) * Herbert (surname) Places Antarctica * Herbert Mountains, Coats Land * Herbert Sound, Graham Land Australia * Herbert ...
gave Ross money. During the trial he called Wilde as "the greatest force for evil that has appeared in Europe during the last three hundred and fifty years", adding that he intensely regretted having met Wilde and helped him with the French translation of ''Salome'', which he called "a most pernicious and abominable piece of work".


''Plain English''

In 1920 Douglas founded a
right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...
, Catholic, and deeply anti-Semitic weekly magazine called ''Plain English'', on which he collaborated with
Harold Sherwood Spencer Harold Sherwood Spencer (April 12, 1890 – August 26, 1957), also known as Howland Spencer, was an American writer and anti-homosexuality and antisemitic activist during and after World War I. He was closely associated with Noel Pemberton Billi ...
and initially Thomas William Hodgson Crosland. It claimed to succeed '' The Academy'', to which Douglas had been a contributing editor. ''Plain English'' ran until the end of 1922. Douglas later admitted that its policy was "strongly anti-Semitic". From August 1920 (issue No 8) ''Plain English'' began publishing a long series of articles called "The Jewish Peril" by Major-General Count Cherep-Spiridovitch, whose title was taken from the fore-title of
George Shanks George Shanks (1896–1957) was an expatriate Briton born in Moscow and was the first translator of ''Protocols of Zion'' from Russian into English. He was also a founding member of Radio Normandy. __NOTOC__ George Shanks was the son of Henry Sha ...
's version of a fraudulent work, ''
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion ''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'' () or ''The Protocols of the Meetings of the Learned Elders of Zion'' is a fabricated antisemitic text purporting to describe a Jewish plan for global domination. The hoax was plagiarized from several ...
''. ''Plain English'' advertised from issue 20
The Britons The Britons was an English anti-Semitic and anti-immigration organisation founded in July 1919 by Henry Hamilton Beamish. The organisation published pamphlets and propaganda under imprint names: Judaic Publishing Co. and later The Britons, and ...
' second edition of Shank's version of the ''Protocols''. Douglas challenged the ''Jewish Guardian'', published by the
League of British Jews The League of British Jews was an Anglo-Jewish anti-Zionist organization that opposed the Balfour Declaration giving British support for the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. The League was founded in November 1917 by a group of p ...
, to take him to court, suggesting they refrained from doing so because they were "well aware of the absolute truth of the allegations which we have made." The magazine suggested in 1921, "We need a Ku Klux Klan in this country," but a promotion for '' Ostara'' magazine was generally not well received by readers. Other regular targets of the magazine included
David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...
, Alfred Viscount Northcliffe,
H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''
Frank Harris Frank Harris (14 February 1855 – 26 August 1931) was an Irish-American editor, novelist, short story writer, journalist and publisher, who was friendly with many well-known figures of his day. Born in Ireland, he emigrated to the United State ...
, and
Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gri ...
. In December 1920 the magazine was the first to publish the secret constitution of the
Irish Republican Brotherhood The Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB; ) was a secret oath-bound fraternal organisation dedicated to the establishment of an "independent democratic republic" in Ireland between 1858 and 1924.McGee, p. 15. Its counterpart in the United States ...
. From 25 December 1920 it began publishing notorious articles alleging that a "powerful individual in the Admiralty" had alerted the Germans at the Battle of Jutland that the British had broken their code, and that
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
had falsified a report in return for a large sum of money from
Ernest Cassel Sir Ernest Joseph Cassel, (3 March 1852 – 21 September 1921) was a British merchant banker and capitalist. Born and raised in Prussia, he moved to England at the age of 17. Life and career Cassel was born in Cologne, in the Rhine Province ...
, who thereby profited. In May 1921 Douglas insinuated that Herbert Earl Kitchener had been murdered by Jews. Douglas ceased to be editor after issue 67 in 1921, after a row with Spencer. He then produced a short-lived, almost identical rival called ''Plain Speech'' in 1921 with
Herbert Moore Pim Herbert Moore Pim (June 6, 1883 - May 12, 1950) was an Irish writer, activist and Bohemianism, bohemian who changed both political and religious allegiances multiple times during his lifetime. Biography Pim was born to the Quaker family of Robe ...
. Its first issue contained a letter from a correspondent in Germany praising " Herr Hittler" (so spelt) and " The German White Labour Party". In 1920 he adhered to the idea of "the Jewish Peril", but noted, "Christian Charity forbids us to join in wholesale and indiscriminate abuse and vilification of an entire race." In 1921 he declared it was not acceptable to "shift responsibility" onto the Jews. In his 1929 ''Autobiography'' he wrote, "I feel now that it is ridiculous to make accusations against the Jews, attributing them qualities and methods which are really much more typically English than Jewish," and then indicated the country had only itself to blame if the Jews came in and trampled on it. The historian Colin Holmes argued that while "Douglas had been to the forefront of anti-semitism in the early 1920s, he was quite unable to come to terms with the vicious racist anti-semitism in Germany" under the Nazis. Politically Douglas described himself as "a strong Conservative of the 'Diehard' variety".


Libel actions

Douglas started his "litigious and libellous career" by gaining an apology and 50 guineas each from the Oxford and Cambridge university magazines ''
Isis Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingd ...
'' and ''Cambridge'' for defamatory references to him in an article on Wilde. Douglas was plaintiff or defendant in several trials for civil or
criminal libel Criminal libel is a legal term, of English origin, which may be used with one of two distinct meanings, in those common law jurisdictions where it is still used. It is an alternative name for the common law offence which is also known (in order ...
. In 1913 he was charged with libelling his father-in-law. That same year he accused
Arthur Ransome Arthur Michell Ransome (18 January 1884 – 3 June 1967) was an English author and journalist. He is best known for writing and illustrating the ''Swallows and Amazons'' series of children's books about the school-holiday adventures of childre ...
of libelling him in his book ''Oscar Wilde: A Critical Study''. He saw the trial as a weapon against his enemy Ross, not understanding that Ross would not be called to give evidence. The court found in Ransome's favour and Douglas was bankrupted by the failed libel suit. Ransome removed the offending passages from the second edition. The prime case was brought by the Crown on Winston Churchill's behalf in 1923. Douglas was found guilty of libelling Churchill and sentenced to six months in prison. Churchill had been accused as cabinet minister of falsifying an official report on the Battle of Jutland in 1916, when although suffering losses, the Royal Navy drove the German battle fleet off the high seas. Churchill was said to have reported that the British Navy had in fact been defeated, the supposed motive being that when the news was flashed, British security prices would tumble on the world's stock exchanges, allowing a group of named Jewish financiers to snap them up cheaply. Churchill's reward was a houseful of furniture valued at £40,000. The allegations were made by Douglas in ''Plain English'' and later at a public meeting in London. A false report of a crushing British naval defeat had indeed been planted in the New York press by German interests, but by this time (after the failure of his Dardanelles Campaign) Churchill was unconnected with the Admiralty. As the attorney general noted in court on Churchill's behalf, there was "no plot, no phoney communiqué, no stock market raid and no present of fine furniture". In 1924, while in prison, Douglas echoed Wilde's composition of ''De Profundis'' (From the Depths) during his incarceration and wrote his last major poetic work, ''In Excelsis'' (In the Highest) in 17
canto The canto () is a principal form of division in medieval and modern long poetry. Etymology and equivalent terms The word ''canto'' is derived from the Italian word for "song" or "singing", which comes from the Latin ''cantus'', "song", from the ...
s. Since the prison authorities would not allow Douglas to take the manuscript with him on his release, he had to rewrite the work from memory. Douglas maintained that his health never recovered from his harsh prison ordeal, which included sleeping on a plank bed without a mattress.


Later life

Douglas's feelings towards Wilde began to soften after Douglas's own incarceration in 1924. He wrote in ''Oscar Wilde: A Summing Up'', "Sometimes a sin is also a crime (for example, a murder or theft), but this is not the case with homosexuality, any more than with adultery." In 1933 he gave a talk about poetry to the Catholic Poetry Society on 'The Catholic attitude to certain poets.' Of Wilde, Douglas said: 'Many years fter Wilde's deathand after I had become a Catholic, I reacted violently against him...Converts are very apt to be censorious and to be more Catholic than Catholics...I hope I am now more charitable and broad-minded than I was...After swinging to two extremes in my estimate of Wilde I have now got into what I believe to be the happy mean.' Similarly, in 1935 he wrote to the theater manager Norman Marshall regarding Marshall's proposed production of a play about the Wilde scandal, closing his letter, 'Devoted as I still am and always will be to the memory of this brilliant and wonderful man and conscious as I am and always shall be about my own failings...Wilde was the author of what I consider to be, apart from Shakespeare, the finest comedy in the English language.' Throughout the 1930s and up to his death, Douglas kept up correspondence with many people, including
Marie Stopes Marie Charlotte Carmichael Stopes (15 October 1880 – 2 October 1958) was a British author, palaeobotanist and campaigner for eugenics and women's rights. She made significant contributions to plant palaeontology and coal classification, ...
and
George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...
. Anthony Wynn based his play ''Bernard and Bosie: A Most Unlikely Friendship'' on the letters between Shaw and Douglas. One of Douglas's final public appearances was a well-received lecture to the
Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, th ...
on 2 September 1943 on ''The Principles of Poetry'', published in an edition of 1,000 copies. He attacked the poetry of T. S. Eliot; the talk was praised by
Arthur Quiller-Couch Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch (; 21 November 186312 May 1944) was a British writer who published using the pseudonym Q. Although a prolific novelist, he is remembered mainly for the monumental publication '' The Oxford Book of English Verse ...
and
Augustus John Augustus Edwin John (4 January 1878 – 31 October 1961) was a Welsh painter, draughtsman, and etcher. For a time he was considered the most important artist at work in Britain: Virginia Woolf remarked that by 1908 the era of John Singer Sarge ...
. Harold Nicolson described his impression of Douglas after meeting him at a lunch party in 1936: In the book, Secret Historian, Samuel Steward (a professor, poet, and novelist) wrote in his diary that he met Lord Douglas when Douglas was 67 – Steward was 27. Lord Douglas professed that he was beyond "sins of the flesh," yet ends up in bed with Steward. Douglas professes that Wilde and he did little more than kiss and find other men for each other. Douglas's only child Raymond was diagnosed at the age of 24 with
schizoaffective disorder Schizoaffective disorder (SZA, SZD or SAD) is a mental disorder characterized by abnormal thought processes and an unstable mood. This diagnosis is made when the person has symptoms of both schizophrenia (usually psychosis) and a mood disorder: ...
in 1927 and entered St Andrew's Hospital, a mental institution. Though decertified and discharged after five years, he suffered another breakdown and returned to the hospital. In February 1944, when his mother died of a cerebral haemorrhage at the age of 70, Raymond was able to attend her funeral and in June he was again decertified. His conduct rapidly deteriorated and he returned to St Andrew's in November, where he stayed until his death on 10 October 1964.


Death

Douglas died of
congestive heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, ...
in
Lancing, West Sussex Lancing is a large coastal village and civil parish in the Adur district of West Sussex, England, on the western edge of the Adur Valley. It occupies part of the narrow central section of the Sussex coastal plain between smaller Sompting to the ...
, on 20 March 1945 at the age of 74. He was buried on 23 March at the Franciscan Friary,
Crawley Crawley () is a large town and borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a population of 106,597 at the time of th ...
, alongside his mother, who had died on 31 October 1935 at the age of 90. They share a gravestone. The elderly Douglas, living a reduced life in
Hove Hove is a seaside resort and one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove, along with Brighton in East Sussex, England. Originally a "small but ancient fishing village" surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th c ...
in the 1940s, appears in the diaries of
Henry Channon Sir Henry Channon (7 March 1897 – 7 October 1958), often known as Chips Channon, was an American-born British Conservative politician, author and diarist. Channon moved to England in 1920 and became strongly anti-American, feeling that Amer ...
and in the first autobiography of
Donald Sinden Sir Donald Alfred Sinden (9 October 1923 – 12 September 2014) was a British actor. Sinden featured in the film ''Mogambo'' (1953), and achieved early fame as a Rank Organisation film star in the 1950s in films including ''The Cruel Sea (195 ...
, whose son
Marc Sinden Marcus Andrew Sinden (born 9 May 1954) is an English actor and film & theatre director and producer. Sinden has worked in film and theatre (mainly in London's West End) as both actor and producer and directed the documentary series ''Great We ...
claimed his father was one of only two people at the funeral. In fact the funeral report in ''The Times'' named some 20 mourners, including Sinden, with "other friends". He died at the home of Edward and Sheila Colman, who were the main beneficiaries in his will, inheriting the copyright to his work. Sheila Colman endowed a memorial prize at Oxford in Douglas's name for the best
Petrarchan sonnet The Petrarchan sonnet, also known as the Italian sonnet, is a sonnet named after the Italian poet Francesco Petrarca, although it was not developed by Petrarch himself, but rather by a string of Renaissance poets.Spiller, Michael R. G. The Develop ...
.


Writings

Douglas published several volumes of poetry and two books about his relationship with Wilde, ''Oscar Wilde and Myself'' (1914, largely ghost-written by
T. W. H. Crosland Thomas William Hodgson Crosland (21 July 1865 – 23 December 1924) was a British author, poet and journalist. Biography Crosland was born in Leeds in 1865, the son of Methodist New Connexion preacher and superintendent of the Prudential Assura ...
, assistant editor of '' The Academy'' and later repudiated by Douglas) and ''Oscar Wilde: A Summing Up'' (1940). He also wrote two memoirs: ''The Autobiography of Lord Alfred Douglas'' (1929) and ''Without Apology'' (1938). Douglas edited a literary journal, '' The Academy'', from 1907 to 1910, during which time he had an affair with the artist
Romaine Brooks Romaine Brooks (born Beatrice Romaine Goddard; May 1, 1874 – December 7, 1970) was an American painter who worked mostly in Paris and Capri. She specialized in portrait painting, portraiture and used a subdued tonal Palette (painting), palette ...
, who was also
bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...
. The main love of her life,
Natalie Clifford Barney Natalie Clifford Barney (October 31, 1876 – February 2, 1972) was an American writer who hosted a literary salon at her home in Paris that brought together French and international writers. She influenced other authors through her salon and a ...
, also had an affair with Wilde's niece
Dorothy Dorothy may refer to: *Dorothy (given name), a list of people with that name. Arts and entertainment Characters *Dorothy Gale, protagonist of ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum * Ace (''Doctor Who'') or Dorothy, a character playe ...
and even, in 1901, with Douglas's future wife
Olive Custance Olive Eleanor Custance (7 February 1874 – 12 February 1944), also known as Lady Alfred Douglas, was an English poet and wife of Lord Alfred Douglas. She was part of the aesthetic movement of the 1890s, and a contributor to '' The Yellow ...
, the year before the couple married. Of the six biographies of Douglas, the earlier ones by Braybrooke and Freeman were forbidden to quote from his copyright work, while ''De Profundis'' was unpublished. Later biographies were by Rupert Croft-Cooke,
H. Montgomery Hyde Harford Montgomery Hyde (14 August 190710 August 1989), born in Belfast, Ireland, was a barrister, politician (Ulster Unionist MP for Belfast North), prolific author and biographer. He was deselected by his party in 1959, losing his seat in th ...
(who also wrote about Wilde), Douglas Murray (who called Braybrooke's biography "a rehash and exaggeration of Douglas's book"
is autobiography In linguistics, a copula (plural: copulas or copulae; list of glossing abbreviations, abbreviated ) is a word or phrase that links the subject (grammar), subject of a sentence (linguistics), sentence to a subject complement, such as the word '' ...
. The most recent is ''Alfred Douglas: A Poet's Life and His Finest Work'' by Caspar Wintermans in 2007.


Poetry

*''Poems'' (1896) *''Tails with a Twist'' "by a Belgian Hare" (1898)
''The City of the Soul'' (1899).
*''The Duke of Berwick'' (1899) *''The Placid Pug'' (1906) *''The Pongo Papers and the Duke of Berwick'' (1907) *''Sonnets'' (1909) *''The Collected Poems of Lord Alfred Douglas'' (1919) *''In Excelsis'' (1924) *''The Complete Poems of Lord Alfred Douglas'' (1928) *''Sonnets'' (1935) *''Lyrics'' (1935) *''The Sonnets of Lord Alfred Douglas'' (1943)


Non-fiction

*''Oscar Wilde and Myself'' (1914) (ghost-written by
T. W. H. Crosland Thomas William Hodgson Crosland (21 July 1865 – 23 December 1924) was a British author, poet and journalist. Biography Crosland was born in Leeds in 1865, the son of Methodist New Connexion preacher and superintendent of the Prudential Assura ...
) *Foreword to ''New Preface to the 'Life and Confessions of Oscar Wilde by Frank Harris (1925) *Introduction to ''Songs of Cell by Horatio Bottomley'' (1928) *''The Autobiography of Lord Alfred Douglas'' (1929; 2nd ed. 1931) *''My Friendship with Oscar Wilde'' (1932; retitled American version of his memoir) *''The True History of Shakespeare's Sonnets'' (1933) *Introduction to ''The Pantomime Man'' by Richard Middleton (1933) *Preface to ''Bernard Shaw, Frank Harris, and Oscar Wilde'' by Robert Harborough Sherard (1937) *''Without Apology'' (1938) *Preface to '' Oscar Wilde: A Play'' by
Leslie Stokes Leslie Stokes was an English playwright and BBC radio producer and director. As a young man Leslie Stokes was an actor and later became a playwright and BBC radio producer and director. Together with his brother, author and playwright Sewell St ...
and
Sewell Stokes Francis Martin Sewell Stokes (16 November 1902, London – 2 November 1979, London) was an English novelist, biographer, playwright, screenwriter, broadcaster and prison visitor. He collaborated on a number of occasions with his brother, Leslie ...
(1938) *Introduction to ''Brighton Aquatints'' by John Piper (1939) *''Ireland and the War Against Hitler'' (1940) *''Oscar Wilde: A Summing Up'' (1940) *Introduction to ''Oscar Wilde and the Yellow Nineties'' by
Frances Winwar Frances Winwar ''(née'' Francesca Vinciguerra; 3 May 1900 – 24 July 1985), was a Sicilian-born American biographer, translator, and fiction writer. Early life Winwar was born Francesca Vinciguerra in Taormina, Sicily and came to the Un ...
(1941) *''The Principles of Poetry'' (1943) *Preface to ''Wartime Harvest'' by Marie Carmichael Stopes (1944)


On film

In the films ''
Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...
'' and ''
The Trials of Oscar Wilde ''The Trials of Oscar Wilde'', also known as ''The Man with the Green Carnation'' and ''The Green Carnation'', is a 1960 British drama film based on the libel and subsequent criminal cases involving Oscar Wilde and the Marquess of Queensberry. ...
'', both released in 1960, Douglas was portrayed by John Neville and
John Fraser John Fraser may refer to: Politics *John Simon Frederick Fraser (1765–1803), commanded the Fraser Fencibles in Ireland and was (M.P.) for Inverness-shire *John James Fraser (1829–1896), 5th Premier of the Canadian province of New Brunswick, 18 ...
respectively. In the 1997 British film ''
Wilde Wilde is a surname. Notable people with the name include: In arts and entertainment In film, television, and theatre * '' Wilde'' a 1997 biographical film about Oscar Wilde * Andrew Wilde (actor), English actor * Barbie Wilde (born 1960), Canad ...
'', Douglas was portrayed by
Jude Law David Jude Heyworth Law (born 29 December 1972) is an English actor. He received a British Academy Film Award, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, two Tony Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. In 2007, he received an Honorary Césa ...
. In the 2018 film '' The Happy Prince'', he was portrayed by
Colin Morgan Colin Morgan (born 1 January 1986) is a Northern Irish actor. He is best known for playing the title character in the BBC fantasy series '' Merlin'' (2008–2012), Leo Elster in ''Humans'' (2015–2018), and Billy Clanton in Kenneth Branagh’s ...
. In the BBC drama ''
Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...
'' (1985) he was portrayed by Robin Lermitte (credited as Robin McCallum); Michael Gambon played Wilde.


Notes


References

*Patrick Braybrooke, ''Lord Alfred Douglas: His Life and Work'' (1931) *Richard Ellmann, ''Oscar Wilde''. New York: Vintage Books (1988) *William Freeman, ''Lord Alfred Douglas: Spoilt Child of Genius'' (1948) *Marquess of Queensberry, rancis Douglasand Percy Colson. ''Oscar Wilde and the Black Douglas'' (1949) *
Rupert Croft-Cooke Rupert Croft-Cooke (20 June 1903 – 10 June 1979) was an English writer. A prolific creator of fiction and non-fiction, including screenplays and biographies under his own name and detective stories under the pseudonym of Leo Bruce. Life The ...
, ''Bosie: Lord Alfred Douglas, His Friends and Enemies'' (1963) *Brian Roberts, ''The Mad Bad Line: The Family of Lord Alfred Douglas'' (1981) *Mary Hyde, ed., ''Bernard Shaw and Alfred Douglas: A Correspondence'' (1982) *
H. Montgomery Hyde Harford Montgomery Hyde (14 August 190710 August 1989), born in Belfast, Ireland, was a barrister, politician (Ulster Unionist MP for Belfast North), prolific author and biographer. He was deselected by his party in 1959, losing his seat in th ...
, ''Lord Alfred Douglas: A Biography'' (1985) *Douglas Murray, ''Bosie: A Biography of Lord Alfred Douglas'' (2000) *Trevor Fisher, ''Oscar and Bosie: A Fatal Passion'' (2002)
Michael Matthew Kaylor, ''Secreted Desires: The Major Uranians: Hopkins, Pater and Wilde'' (2006)
a 500-page scholarly volume that considers the Victorian writers of
Uranian poetry The Uranians were a 19th-century clandestine group of up to several dozen male homosexual poets and prose writers who principally wrote on the subject of the love of (or by) adolescent boys. In a strict definition they were an English literary a ...
and prose, such as Douglas *Timothy d'Arch Smith, ''Love in Earnest. Some Notes on the Lives and Writings of English 'Uranian' Poets from 1889 to 1930.'' (1970) * Caspar Wintermans, ''Alfred Douglas: A Poet's Life and His Finest Work'' (2007) *Molly Whittington-Egan, "Such White Lilies: Frank Miles & Oscar Wilde" Rivendale Press, January 2008


External links


Unofficial website of Lord Alfred 'Bosie' Douglas
* * * *
Numerous archival resources relating to Lord Alfred Douglas
are listed i
ArchiveGrid
by Lord Alfred Douglas (with commentary by VED from Victoria Institutions)
Finding aid to Alfred Bruce Douglas papers at Columbia University. Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas, Alfred 1870 births 1945 deaths 19th-century English poets Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Antisemitism in the United Kingdom Bisexual men Bisexual writers British male poets Uranians British male dramatists and playwrights Converts to Roman Catholicism from atheism or agnosticism English male novelists English people of Scottish descent English Roman Catholics LGBT nobility LGBT Roman Catholics English LGBT poets Muses Oscar Wilde People educated at Winchester College People educated at Wixenford School People from Malvern Hills District Protocols of the Elders of Zion Roman Catholic conspiracy theorists Younger sons of marquesses LGBT memoirists English conspiracy theorists People from Lancing, West Sussex