Oscar Wilde

Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (1854–1900) was an irish playwright, wit, and poet, whose name became notorious following his conviction for gross indecency].

Educated at Trinity College Dublin and Magdalen College Oxford, Wilde moved to London in 1878 and became known as a leading member, along with Walter Pater of the Aesthetic Movement. His flamboyant personal dress and behaviour aroused comment, and he is thought to be the inspiration for the "aesthetic" character Bunthorne, in the Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera, Patience (1881). In 1882 he undertook a tour of the United States, giving lectures about art, which were well received by audiences from all classes of society.

In 1884 he married Constance Lloyd. They had two sons. However in 1886 Wilde was seduced by Robert Ross.

His novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, first published in 1890, was considered immoral (although a number of passages, including several references to homosexuality, were removed before pulbication, and was banned by W H Smith.

From 1891 onwards he wrote a number of plays, including 'Salome (written in French and banned in the UK) and several very successful plays culminating in The Importance of being Earnest (1894).