Vyvyan Beresford Holland, (born Vyvyan Oscar Beresford Wilde; 3 November 1886 – 10 October 1967) was an English author and translator. He was the second-born son of Irish playwright Oscar Wilde and

Constance Lloyd Constance Mary Wilde (née Lloyd; 2 January 1858 – 7 April 1898) was an Irish author. She was the wife of Irish playwright Oscar Wilde and the mother of their two sons, Cyril and Vyvyan. Early life and marriage The daughter of Horace Lloy ...

, and had a brother,

Cyril Cyril (also Cyrillus or Cyryl) is a masculine given name. It is derived from the Greek name Κύριλλος (''Kýrillos''), meaning 'lordly, masterful', which in turn derives from Greek κυριος ('' kýrios'') 'lord'. There are various varia ...

Biography

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and pol ...

was Oscar Wilde's first choice as godfather to Vyvyan, but he declined due to his age. Wilde turned to Mortimer Menpes, who accepted. According to Vyvyan Holland's accounts in his autobiography, ''Son of Oscar Wilde'' (1954), Oscar was a devoted and loving father to his two sons and their childhood was a relatively happy one. After 1895, when Wilde was convicted of the charge of "gross indecency" and imprisoned, Constance changed her surname, and those of their sons, to Holland. She forced Wilde to give up his parental rights. She moved with the boys to Switzerland and enrolled them in an English-speaking boarding school in Germany. Vyvyan was unhappy there. Because of this, but also to improve security, Vyvyan was moved to a Jesuit school in

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

. He converted to Catholicism and subsequently attended Stonyhurst College in England, a public school also run by Jesuits. His brother Cyril remained at the school in Germany. After Constance died in 1898, her relatives sought legal counsel to prevent Oscar Wilde from seeing his sons again. Wilde died in 1900. Vyvyan studied law at Trinity Hall in the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

from 1905, but tired of his studies and left Cambridge in 1907. On 20 July 1909 he accompanied his father's friend Robert Ross to witness the reinterment of his father's remains from Bagneux Cemetery to

Père Lachaise Cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (french: Cimetière du Père-Lachaise ; formerly , "East Cemetery") is the largest cemetery in Paris, France (). With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Notable figure ...

in Paris. Holland resumed his study of law at the age of 22, and was called to the Bar of England and Wales by the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...

in 1912. He also began to write poems and short stories. Holland married Violet Mary Craigie in 1913. She died on 15 October 1918 at Westminster Hospital, Middlesex, from injuries in a fire. At the start of the

First World War 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 ...

in 1914, Holland was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Interpreters Corps. He later transferred into 114 Battery, XXV Bde Royal Field Artillery. He was demobilised on 27 July 1919 and was awarded an OBE. His brother Cyril had been killed by a German sniper on 9 May 1915, during the

Battle of Festubert The Battle of Festubert (15–25 May 1915) was an attack by the British army in the Artois region of France on the western front during World War I. The offensive formed part of a series of attacks by the French Tenth Army and the British ...

in France. Holland became an author and translator. At the beginning of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, he was offered a position as a translator and editor for the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Biography

References

Books

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