The British Library has honoured late Irish writer Oscar Wilde by reissuing a reader's card in his name, 130 years after his original was revoked following his conviction for gross indecency. The celebrated novelist, poet and playwright was excluded from the library's reading room in 1895 over his charge for having had homosexual relationships, which was a criminal offence at the time. The new card, which will be collected by his grandson, author Merlin Holland, on Thursday, is intended to acknowledge the injustices and immense suffering Wilde faced, the library said. Mr Holland said the new card is a lovely gesture of forgiveness and I'm sure his spirit will be touched and delighted.
The decision to revoke Wilde's pass for the library - then the British Museum reading room - was recorded without comment in the trustees' minutes for 15 June 1895. He had been in prison for three weeks at the time after being handed a two-year prison sentence with hard labour. The author was convicted after he lost a libel trial against Lord Queensberry, who had accused him of being homosexual after discovering that his son, Lord Alfred Douglas, aka Bosie, was Wilde's lover.
Dame Carol Black, chair of the British Library, described Wilde as one of the most significant literary figures of the nineteenth century. She said that by reissuing his library card, we hope to not only honour Wilde's memory but also acknowledge the injustices and immense suffering he faced as a result of his conviction.
The decision to revoke Wilde's pass for the library - then the British Museum reading room - was recorded without comment in the trustees' minutes for 15 June 1895. He had been in prison for three weeks at the time after being handed a two-year prison sentence with hard labour. The author was convicted after he lost a libel trial against Lord Queensberry, who had accused him of being homosexual after discovering that his son, Lord Alfred Douglas, aka Bosie, was Wilde's lover.
Dame Carol Black, chair of the British Library, described Wilde as one of the most significant literary figures of the nineteenth century. She said that by reissuing his library card, we hope to not only honour Wilde's memory but also acknowledge the injustices and immense suffering he faced as a result of his conviction.
