Merlin Holland | After Oscar: the legacy of a scandal

Recorded: Sat 25 Apr 2026

Duration: 1 hour

Merlin Holland | After Oscar: the legacy of a scandal

Spring 2026

Oscar Wilde died in November 1900, exiled in Paris and exhausted by scandal and prison life. The details of his life in the limelight are well known; what has regularly been ignored are the reverberations of the scandal for decades after his death: the myths and legends that have been created, the quarrels between his friends and enemies, the court cases…

His only grandson, Merlin Holland, has dedicated himself to studying Oscar’s life and works, and their wider legacy. In After Oscar, Merlin debunks many inaccurate or entirely fictitious stories that have grown up around this iconic figure. Experience this wonderful conversation between Merlin with broadcaster Alex Clark for a moving event, shedding much-needed light on the reverberations of a life and a scandal.

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