Oscar Wilde and the Dead Man's Smile
A Mystery
In Oscar Wilde and the Dead Man’s Smile, the famous playwright and raconteur leaves England for a lecture tour in the United States, where he meets P.T. Barnum, sees Jumbo the Elephant, becomes involved in a saloon shoot out, and entertains Broadway’s brightest stars. But soon Wilde becomes entangled with the LaGrange acting dynasty, whom he befriends aboard an ocean liner. Things are not what they seem with this family, and Oscar’s shrewd curiosity may get the better of him as he investigates their hardships. Once the troupe arrives in Paris to perform Hamlet, the tragedies mount. As Oscar digs deeper into these seemingly random events, he will discover a horrifying secret…one which may bring him closer to his own last chapter than he could ever imagine. Gyles Brandreth has crafted another enchanting entertainment that is as intelligent as it is beguiling.
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Buy from us:
- Touchstone |
- 400 pages |
- ISBN 9781416987208 |
- September 2009
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Read an Excerpt
Prologue
London, Christmas 1890
“Do you recognise him?”
“I’m not sure.”
“He has the look of a murderer, has he not?”
“Do you think so?”
“Yes, I do. It’s his smile, Robert. Never trust a man who shows you his lower teeth when he smiles.”
“But the poor wretch is dead, Oscar.”
“The rule applies, nevertheless.”
“And this is just a waxwork.”
“But it was sculpted from life, Robert, or, at least, directly from the cadaver. It’s a point of honour with the...
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America
On 24 December 1881 Oscar Wilde set sail for the United States of America. He went in search of adventure and gold. Within weeks, he had found a portion of both.
Oscar had recently turned twenty-seven and, in England, his claim to fame was that he was famous for being famous. He was a celebrity, in the tradition of Lord Byron and Beau Brummell, but more Brummell than Byron, more style than substance. “Evidently I am ‘somebody,’” he noted at the time, “but what have I done? I’ve been ‘noticed.’ That is something, I suppose. And I have published one book of poems....
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Book Reviews
Reading Group Guide
For discussion
1. As a reader, what were your first feelings toward Eddie Garstrang? What were your first impressions of Edmond La Grange? How did your emotions toward these characters change throughout the book? What were major turning points for you?
2. Oscar Wilde and the Dead Man’s Smile is set in America, London, and Paris. Each of these places has unique characteristics, but all share some general similarities. How are these places similar and different?
3. What was the effect of reading the story through Robert’s eyes? How would it have been different if Oscar had done the narrating?
4. Oscar writes in his journal of Madame La Grange, “Old age has no consolations to offer us. The pulse of joy that beats in us at twenty has become sluggish. Limbs fail, senses rot. We degenerate into hideous puppets, haunted by the memories of the passions of which we were too much afraid, and the exquisite temptations that we had not the courage to yield to” (page 47). Do you agree with his harsh words about old see more
