Wilde library card reissued 130 years after being revoked
The British Library has honoured the late writer Oscar Wilde by reissuing a reader’s card in his name. The card was revoked 130 years ago following his conviction for “gross indecency” for having had a gay relationship, which at the time was a criminal offence.
Wilde was excluded from the library’s reading room in 1895 following his charge. The new card was collected by his grandson Merlin Holland and intends to “acknowledge the injustices and immense suffering,” according to the library. The new card, Holland said, is a “lovely gesture of forgiveness and I’m sure his spirit will be touched and delighted.”
The decision to revoke the pass for the library from Wilde from the British Museum reading room came on 15th June 1895. He had been in prison for three weeks at the time, being given a two-year prison sentence with hard labour.
He was convicted after losing a libel trial against Lord Queensberry who had accused Wilde of being gay after discovering that his son, Lord Alfred Douglas, known as Bosie, had been his lover. Library regulations at the time required anyone convicted of a crime to have their card revoked.
The British Library holds handwritten drafts of some of his famous works, including The Importance of Being Ernest, An Ideal Husband, A Woman of No Importance, and Lady Windermere’s Fan.
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