The overlooked story of Oscar Wilde's family — particularly his wife Constance and their sons — is the foundation for this novel by Louis Bayard.
Blending tragedy and comedy in a manner reminiscent of Wilde’s plays, Bayard explores the implications of Wilde's public downfall from the perspective of those closest to him.
The novel takes place across multiple locations in Europe, with the opening act set in the idyllic Norfolk countryside in England in August 1892, where the Wilde family vacations and Lord Alfred Douglas ("Bosie") arrives.
Later acts follow Constance and her sons in an Italian seaside village after Wilde's imprisonment, and the narrative moves to France's WWI trenches, then London’s Soho in the postwar years.
The story returns to the Norfolk countryside to reckon with the lasting impact of Wilde’s scandal on the family.
Through these varied settings—Norfolk, Italy, France, and London—the novel portrays the displacement, loss, and search for identity that marked the lives of Oscar Wilde's wife and sons after his ruin.