The Wildes: A Novel in Five Acts - Paperback

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by Louis Bayard (Author)

In this singularly powerful novel, bestselling author Louis Bayard brings Oscar Wilde's wife Constance and two sons out from the shadows of history and creates a vivid and poignant story of secrets, loss, and love.

In September of 1892, Oscar Wilde and his family have retreated to the idyllic Norfolk countryside for a holiday. His wife, Constance, has every reason to be happy: two beautiful sons, her own work as an advocate for feminist causes, and a delightfully charming and affectionate husband and father to her children, who also happens to be the most sought-after author in England. But with the arrival of an unexpected houseguest, the aristocratic young poet Lord Alfred Douglas, Constance gradually--and then all at once--comes to see that her husband's heart is elsewhere and that the growing intensity between the two men threatens the whole foundation of their lives.

The Wildes: A Novel in Five Acts takes readers on the emotional journey of this family, moving from the Italian countryside, where Constance Wilde flees from the aftermath of Oscar's imprisonment for homosexuality, to the trenches of World War I and an underground bar in London's Soho, where Oscar's sons Cyril and Vyvyan must both grapple with their father's legacy. And in a brilliant feat of the imagination, act 5 reunites the entire cast in a surprising, poignant, and tremendously satisfying tableau.

With Louis Bayard's trademark sparkling dialogue and deep insight into the lives and longings of all his characters, The Wildes could almost have been created by Oscar Wilde himself. Lightly told but with hidden depths, it is an entertaining and dramatic story about the human condition.

"Wonderfully researched, beautifully crafted, movingly told, The Wildes is a treasure to read."
--Andrew Sean Greer, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Less and Less Is Lost

"The Wildes is a marvel of tenderness, irony, heartbreak, and reclamation that demonstrates why Bayard is among the most essential--and most entertaining--interrogators of the past."
--Anthony Marra, author of Mercury Pictures Presents and A Constellation of Vital Phenomena

Author Biography

Louis Bayard is the critically acclaimed bestselling author of nine historical novels, including Jackie & Me and The Pale Blue Eye, which was adapted into the global #1 Netflix release starring Christian Bale. His articles, reviews, and recaps have appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Salon, and the Paris Review. His work has been translated into more than a dozen languages.

Number of Pages: 320

Dimensions: 0.9 x 8.2 x 5.4 IN

Publication Date: August 12, 2025