Merlin Holland | After Oscar: the legacy of a scandal
Sat 25 Apr 2026 | 8:00pm - 9:00pm
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. Join Merlin for much-needed light on the reverberations of a life and a scandal.
Chaired by broadcaster Alex Clark.
Venue: Palmerston Room
Duration: 1 hour
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Author Biography
Merlin Holland, the only grandson of Oscar Wilde, is an author living in France. For the last 40 years he has been researching his grandfather’s life and works, and writes, lectures, and broadcasts regularly on the subject in English, French, and German. His most notable publications include Irish Peacock and Scarlet Marquess, the first complete, verbatim record of the libel trial which ultimately brought Oscar Wilde to ruin, and The Wilde Album, a pictorial biography of Oscar Wilde. After Oscar, his latest book, is an account of Oscar’s posthumous life and traces the extraordinary fluctuations in his grandfather’s reputation after his death. After Oscar’s conviction in 1895, his wife, Constance, and their two sons were forced to move abroad and change their name to Holland. The family has never reverted to the name Wilde.
Chair Biography
Alex Clark is a broadcaster and journalist, who writes for many publications including the Guardian, the Observer, and the Times Literary Supplement. She is a co-host on the Graham Norton Book Club for Audible and hosts the TLS podcast. She is a professional chairperson and appears all over the UK at Cheltenham, Hay and the Southbank Centre. Alex is a festival Honorary Patron.
