Oscar Wilde books found at UCL shed light on crucial chapter in Britain’s LGBTQ+ history

The Golden Lotus and Other Legends of Japan by Edward Greey and an 1882 translation of Persian author Mulláná Abdulrahmán Jámī’s The Book of Joseph and Zuleikhá have been linked to Wilde, thanks to the detective work of a UCL librarian.

A copy of Salome, a play by Wilde himself, also now can be confirmed as part of his collection. It contains drawings by an illustrator who was heavily influenced by Japanese art. 

The books, part of a 2,000-strong collection, were sold at auction to help pay off legal debts Wilde had incurred in 1895. Only about 40 books in his collection have been identified.

Sarah Pipkin, Outreach and Exhibitions Coordinator in UCL Special Collections, noticed a handwritten note in all three copies from the buyer, which confirmed they were bought at the Wilde book auction.

Wilde was famously prosecuted for being gay at a time when homosexuality was against the law and Ms Pipkin said the volumes shed light on both the author and a crucial chapter in LGBTQ+ history.

She said: “Wilde did not use a personalised bookplate or write his name in all his books and it is the lack of annotations which makes re-building his library very difficult.

“The fact we have been able to identify these books at all is a miracle really. They are a slice of LGBTQ+ history.”

The Golden Lotus includes Greey’s retelling of several Japanese folklore stories and was published in 1883.

It was thought to have been owned by Wilde as it was listed on the auction catalogue, but what UCL’s copy has revealed is that he had a personal relationship with the author.

UCL’s copy is a presentation copy, that is, a copy of the book given as a gift from the author alongside a personalised inscription from the author to the recipient.

The title page includes a large inscription from the author to Wilde – a new year’s greeting is written in Japanese characters, Romanised Japanese and English

Ms Pipkin said: “It is more proof of Wilde’s interest in Japanese art and literature. We knew Wilde owned a copy of the book, but not that he had a relationship with the author, who was a Japanese antiquities dealer.”

The Book of Joseph and Zuleikhá, on the other hand, was not known to be linked to Wilde. A celebrated allegorical romance, it was written by the 15-Century Persian poet Jami. Developed primarily from the account in Sura 12 of the Qur'an, it tells the story of the Prophet Yusuf and the wife of wife of Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh's guard in the time of Jacob and his twelve sons.

The third book, the play Salome by Wilde, is a one-act tragedy which was first published in 1893. It tells the story of the attempted seduction of Jokanaan (John the Baptist) by Salome, stepdaughter of Herod Antipas.

Salome was illustrated by Aubrey Beardsley, who was heavily influenced by Japanese art.

In all three books, an identical note was found by Ms Pipkin. It read:

“Bought 27/4/95 from F. Edwards, 83 High St, Marylebone (From sale of Oscar Wilde’s library under Sheriff’s order 23/4/95 by Brooks at Duke St))”. 

In April 1895, the contents of Oscar Wilde’s house at No 16 Tite Street, Chelsea, were auctioned off to pay off a debt he owed to the Marquess of Queensberry after unsuccessfully trying to sue him for libel over claims he was gay. Wilde’s lover was Queensbury’s son, the poet and journalist Lord Alfred Douglas.

Ms Pipkin said: “In terms of LGBTQ+ history there’s a sense of loss of history because of things like the criminalisation of homosexuality.

“In Wilde’s case, there’s a sense of lost history because of his libel trial led to the dispersal of his book collection and much of it being lost.

“So identifying these books for me is very much about being seen to reconstruct these elements of LGBTQ+ history which otherwise would sit unknown on the shelves. The contents of Wilde’s library tell quite a nice story about our LGBTQ+ life in the late 19^th Century.”

Erika Delbecque, Head of Rare Books at UCL Special Collections, said: “Sarah has done an amazing job of piecing together this chapter in Wilde’s history. What Wilde read, and his relationships with those authors, tell as a lot about the man himself, his influences and LGBTQ+ history at the turn of the 20^th Century.”

Included in the sale was Wilde’s library of more than 2,000 books, alongside drafts, letters, paintings, furniture and his children’s toys. The auction only provided an incomplete record of his library collection.

Links

• Sarah Pipkin's UCL staff profile
• Erica Delbecque's UCL staff profile
• UCL Special Collections

Image

• Portrait of Oscar Wilde, an Irish poet, novelist, and dramatist. Photograph engraving published 1894. Credit: Christine Kohler. From iStock. 

Media contact

Nick Hodgson

Tel: +44 (0)7769 240209

Email: nick.hodgson [at] ucl.ac.uk