He was holed up in a hotel on location somewhere on the Continent and had just read my biography of Robbie. Could I give him any advice? Unfortunately some of the film was already in the can so it was too late to take on board my point that Robbie spoke with a marked Canadian accent all his life. But I hope some of my other remarks were of use. But the film was a bit of a damp squib commercially, not receiving the critical attention it deserved and failing to pull in the crowds before quickly entering that purgatory of non-hits.
For anyone interested in film-making this book is worth reading, and for fans of Oscar Wilde, it is a must-have. At one point, Everett as director is encouraged to make some cuts because someone comments that Oscar comes across as rather disagreeable. But of course a crucial point about Wilde is that one loves and admires him, despite his glaring faults. One of the most pervasive myths about the Irish playwright Oscar Wilde is that prison destroyed him and that his remaining couple of years of life after release were a sorry saga of penury and ill health, leading to an early death in Paris.
But as Oscar said himself, truth is never pure and rarely simple. Behind the bare facts of this decline lies the reality of many months of enjoyable travels and hedonistic pleasures, not least in Italy. Like many Victorians, Wilde was attracted by the warm climate, classical legacy and artistic treasures of Italy, in his case supplemented by the welcoming smiles of local youths, especially in the south.
His letters from Italy to his devoted friend, erstwhile lover and literary executor, Robbie Ross, bubble and fizz with the joy of so much adventure. For the dedicated Wildean, therefore, there is very little that is new, the notable exception being translations of some interviews Oscar gave to Italian journalists, mainly in Naples. It is interesting to note how many of them reported inaccurately, or made things up. There are, however, many attractive photographs in the book, not least the sepia neo-classical portraits by Wilhelm von Gloeden of youths in Sicily where Wilde did visit von Gloeden.
But it is rather sad when one has to admit that the best thing about a book is its cover. The chef at the Savile recreated deliciously much of the menu of that event over a hundred years ago. I gave the after-dinner speech highlighting Robbie and the value of friendship. Gyles Brandreth was the Master of Ceremonies. Ross was born in Tours, France, on 25 May, , but moved to London with his widowed mother and siblings while still a child.
