In 1895 noted wit, playwright and author Oscar Wilde’s was charged and convicted of gross indecency for his homosexual affair with Lord Alfred Douglas. Among the many consequences of the scandal Wilde’s library card revoked. the British Library, which has a major collection of Wilde's work, including a personal letter he wrote from jail to Lord Douglas, has finally decided to right that wrong. It will reinstate his pass on October 16, Wilde’s 171st birthday. His ghost will be free to haunt the reading room of the library again. From article in July Rare Book Hub Monthly https://www.rarebookhub.com/articles/3892

by Hammer_Price

4 comments

  1. That’ll be of comfort to him I’m sure.

    Don’t you have to renew your library card every 10 years anyway?

    He’ll have to come back from the dead and reapply to his local council.

  2. The place is stuffed full of people, he’ll be lucky to get a seat.

    Also how the hell did losing your library card become a legal sanction?

  3. It’s not like he contributed anything to the advancement of the English language and literature.

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