Oscar Wilde...

I have always been haunted and fascinated by the life and works of Oscar Wilde. The general consensus is that he was ''homosexual'' - a label he would undoubtedly repudiate - indeed, he would define himself as enamoured of the Classical Graeco-Roman pederastic tradition. He was married though, and sired two sons. Readers may already have read it, but there is an interesting article here about Wilde's person and his fascination with the beauty and mystery of Catholic ritual - quite scandalous in those days, even decades after the Emancipation (the wrath of Mabel Tolkien's Baptist and Unitarian family at her conversion is sufficient to show this). The general thrust of the article is that his life was marked by a long and arduous conversion. He was received into the Church on his deathbed, exhausted from persecution and a long exile. Do read the article!