Behind the sensational headlines of Oscar Wilde’s affair with Lord Alfred “Bosie” Douglas is Oscar’s family dealing with the fallout. This “novel in five acts” – a nod to Oscar’s playwriting career – opens in August 1892 with Act One when Oscar, his mother Lady Wilde, his wife Constance, and their sons Cyril and Vyvyan are holidaying in the Norfolk countryside. Oscar’s friend, the childlike and flamboyant Bosie, joins them. Oscar, a loving and devoted husband and father, and Constance no longer share a bed, but their family life is a source of happiness and contentment for both. Initially, Constance doesn’t pick up on the subtle clues of what is happening between her husband and Bosie, but gradually she begins to put the pieces together, and the foundations of her world begin to falter.

Act Two finds Constance and her sons at a seaside village in Italy five years later, after Oscar’s imprisonment for sodomy and indecency. We look back at the sordid publicity the family endured during and after Oscar’s libel and criminal trials. Act Three focuses on Cyril during WWI and Act Four on Vyvyan after the Great War, both coming to terms with the father they loved and the man pilloried by the world. Returning to the Norfolk countryside of 1892 for Act Five, the family is determined to hold together in the affair’s aftermath, but, as we know, society and the law have a different agenda.

Bayard’s dialogue is witty and lively. His writing infuses the characters’ emotions into the reader, and you become, not a bystander, but a part of Constance’s life, living the implosion of her happy life and feeling her pain. And Oscar who, placed in a different time, wouldn’t have been destroyed this way will make your heart break. This is unarguably one of Bayard’s best novels and a must read.

Historical Novels Review, November 2024

I went into this book not knowing what to expect and I was pleasantly surprised. As an English major I knew about Oscar Wilde as an author and I vaguely knew about his relationships with other men. This novel gives you an intimate look at the man behind the books and more importantly his wife and sons. The writing is absolutely gorgeous and I could picture it being acted out as a play in my mind. Having act 3 and 4 focused on a grown up Cyril and Vyvyan was really interesting and shows just how deeply they were both affected by the scandal that tore apart their family. The last act, a reimagining of what could have been was such a heartbreakingly beautiful way to end the novel. I think this book would be a wonderful addition to an english class and I would be interested to hear what Wilde scholars make of it.

Spoiler warning: I mention some specific biographical information about the family family which is more or less common knowledge. I try to avoid giving away anything essential to Bayard's telling of the family's tale. Nonetheless, this review does contain section of plot summary.

The Wildes is a good book that I wish were better. It starts off well, in a rural farmhouse where the Wildes are staying so Oscar "can write." They've been joined by a miserable pair of newlyweds who show no sign of ever packing up and leaving. And by Oscar's friend (or "friend," if you prefer) Lord Alfred Douglas, affectionately called Bosie.

We all know the bare bones of what happens in this section of the novel: Constance Wild, Oscar's wife discovers his involvement with Bosie. I didn't know much more than that as I read, and don't intend to treat The Wildes as nonfiction, but the story this book tells is that Constance prepares to leave Oscar, then changes her mind (juicy details, but I'm not putting them in here).

The remaining four sections of the novel are built more or less around individual family members and each represents a significant jump in team. These sections follow Constance and the children Cyril and Vyvyan. The three have taken the false last name Holland in hopes of escaping the reach of Oscar's notoriety. We get two rounds of the story with Constance, one each with Cyril And Vyvyan. These sections with a narrower focus lack the interactivity of the first, which makes for darker, more melancholic reading.

Constance suffers ever-increasing health crises; Cyril fights in WWI; Vyvyan has an unsettling meet-up with Bosie long after his mother and brother have passed. This final section seems like it should be climactic, but, like Bosie itself, it is self-centered, and more or less pointless.

The analogy I'm thinking of here is racing down a steep hill on a bicycle, moving incredibly quickly in a manner both exciting and terrifying. Then that bicycle faces another hill and moves more and more slowly up it hoping the energy of the initial descent will provide energy for the climb.

Here's the thing: I'm unhappy with the dreariness of the novel after the first section, but I suspect that the Wildes' lives were dreary after the family's shattering: slogging along in an uncomfortable anonymity. Bayard is giving readers a reasonable version of what Constance, Cyril, and Vyvyan's lives might have been like as the years dragged on after the initial scandal. In other words, this is a book you can't read for its action. It's a book you must read for the characters, and if their lives are dreary, the reading will be a bit dreary as well—but it will feel honest.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own.

The Wildes was a great read! More than expected. It was funny but also really fleshed out the hypocrisy of English society. I liked the insight into the children's lives and the chapters taking place decades apart. Great on audio too.

<i> In September of 1892, Oscar Wilde and his family retreated to the idyllic Norfolk countryside for a holiday. His wife, Constance, has every reason to be happy: two beautiful sons, a stellar reputation as an advocate for progressive causes, and a delightfully charming and affectionate husband and father, who is perhaps the most famous man in England. But as an assortment of houseguests arrive, including an aristocratic young wannabe poet named Lord Alfred Douglas, Constance gradually—and then all at once—comes to see that her husband's heart is elsewhere and that the growing intensity between the two men threatens the whole foundation of their lives. </i>

The Wildes gives us a view into the lives of Oscar Wilde, his wife Constance, and their sons- before, during, and after the scandal that changed their family life forever. It’s an interesting if uneven look at a personal history I was previously unfamiliar with. So much ground was covered that it felt like we never really got the depth I was hoping for, but it was still a worthwhile read- as well as a reminder of how much progress we have and haven’t made since.

Thank you Louis Bayard, Algonquin Books, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

This novel focuses on the effects on Oscar Wilde’s family of his trial and imprisonment for homosexuality.

The book opens with Oscar, his wife Constance, and other family members on holiday in Norfolk. The arrival of Lord Alfred Douglas (Bosie) upsets the peace of the vacation. It is during his prolonged stay that Constance realizes that Oscar and Bosie are lovers, and the foundations of the happy family are shaken.

Structured like a Wilde play, the novel is narrated in five acts. In the first act, it is 1892 and Oscar is one of the most popular playwrights in London when the family holidays on a farm in Norfolk. Though Constance feels Oscar “has never belonged entirely to her,” being a man of public interest and constantly visited by a “stream of acolytes, the procession of narrow-chested young men, each younger than the last,” she thinks of their marriage as a happy one. Bosie’s arrival changes everything. The second act, set in 1897, focuses on Constance’s life in Italy where she has taken refuge from the ugly publicity surrounding Oscar’s trial and imprisonment. She changes her name and the surname of her children to Holland. The third act is from the perspective of Cyril, the elder son; he is a sniper in the trenches of France during World War I. The fourth act, 1925 in London, focuses on Vyvyan, the younger son, who is still grappling with what happened in Norfolk and his father’s legacy. The final act reunites the family members in a surprising way and imagines what could have happened if everyone had agreed to create an unconventional family and hide Oscar’s homosexuality from the public and authorities.

Though Oscar is the famous figure, he is not the main character. It is the people most affected by his choices and actions that are central to the novel: Constance, Cyril, and Vyvyan. Lady Brooke, Constance’s friend, states that Oscar has made his wife a martyr: “’Dragging you and your boys into his mire. Forcing you into exile. Obliging you to live under assumed identities. . . . Dressed like somebody’s governess in a rented villa. Cringing at phantom journalists and dragging your right leg after you like a sack of turnips.’” Cyril reacts to what happened to his father by rejecting his father: “I am no wild, passionate, irresponsible hero. I live by thought, not by emotion.” He despises “weak-kneed, effeminate degenerates” and aspires to “an obsidian hardness”: “Life in its most collapsed and concentrated form – that is the destiny of a boy whose father acted like a woman, turned other men into women. That same boy must scourge all that is female from his soul and, coming himself into manhood, embrace the most masculine of careers” because “lapping at his heels always, is the memory of shame, of exile, or what happens when a fellow makes himself tender.”

Though obviously there is a great deal of pathos, there is also humour. Dialogue is often sparkling and witty. One of Constance’s friends mentions listening to Bosie’s talking about nothing but himself, and Constance replies, “’So he is a man after all.’” Lady Wilde, Oscar’s mother, with her cathedral chest, adds many a light-hearted moment.

Characters are fully developed. One cannot help but empathize with Constance. She thinks of herself as “A woman of scant importance,” but there is no doubt of her intelligence. And one cannot but admire her behaviour. For instance, on the opening night of The Importance of Being Earnest in 1895, she stands by her husband: “’she took [Oscar’s] arm and smiled with the most extraordinary placidity toward every photographer.’” Oscar is selfish and proud and reckless. He loves attention. Constance thinks of her husband with “his egoism and disdain for consequences, his readiness to fly as close to the sun as the sun will allow.” But there are glimpses of him as a husband and father. He treats Constance with tenderness and affection. And there is also no doubt of his love for his sons; his “finding” of Blackie, a rabbit Cyril loved, indicates his ability and desire to be a good father.

The character who emerges as the villain is Bosie. One man speaks of him as “’the most astonishing case of arrested development I have ever had the misfortune of encountering,’” and that is a perfect description. He can be very charming, but at his heart is a narcissist. His behaviour during the Norfolk holiday can only be described as odious, and his meeting with Vyvyan decades later confirms he has not changed; one man describes him as a “’rancorous bigot,’” But even for this spoiled child, one can have some compassion when reading about the treatment he receives at the hands of his father, the Marquess of Queensberry.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is deeply insightful in its portrayal of human nature and emotions. I will be visiting Dublin this fall, and I intend to view the Oscar Wilde Memorial Sculpture in Merrion Square. Besides admiring Oscar reclining on a boulder, I will be paying particular attention to one of the pillars that flanks the boulder: a representation of Constance Wilde. Thank you, Mr. Bayard, for helping me think about her whose life was so impacted by her famous husband’s choices.

This book, though fiction, radiates thorough research throughout. So does empathy, both for the main characters (Oscar's wife Constance and children Cyril and Vyvyan) as well as for characters like Oscar and Bosie who are framed more as antagonists in this story. The book is thoughtful, thorough, empathetic, complex, and deeply human.

The Wildes tells the story of Oscar Wilde's entanglement with Lord Alfred Douglas and eventual imprisonment from the POV of his immediate family: wife Constance, sons Cyril and Vyvyan. It's a great new perspective on a familiar story, and I enjoyed the five act structure (though I wish act V was given a little more attention), but acts III and IV needed more attention.

Delighted to include this historical fiction in the September edition of Novel Encounters, my column highlighting the month’s most anticipated fiction for the Books section of Zoomer, Canada’s national lifestyle and culture magazine. (see column and mini-review at link)

eARC Review: The Wildes by Louis Bayard 🖋️

This was a wonderful historical fiction and reimagining of the life of Oscar Wilde’s family: Constance, Cyril, and Vyvyan. I thought Baynard did a wonderful job of portraying the tragedy that was the Wildes’ shattering both privately and in the public eye in a way that felt understandable but still raw. 😢

The story is split up into five parts, with the first two focusing on Constance, the third on Cyril, the fourth on Vyvyan, and the last a reimagining of what could have happened if events had gone differently. Constance is portrayed as not only the perfect wife, but also a woman who feels like her best is sometimes lacking, even with the love of her family. I honestly loved the dynamic that she had with Oscar and Cyril during and after the events that forever changed the family. Cyril is a tragic figure in and of himself due to his section of being on the front lines of WWI. He’s scarred by the upheaval of his life and family, and out both survival after that trauma and the horrors he’s facing on the battlefield, he’s hardened himself into a shell of the man he could have been. Vyvyan is also tragic in his own way. He’s got survivor’s guilt due to the fact that he is the last of his family and struggling to find meaning in his life post deaths. Honestly, the four acts just felt like a study in tragedy which I thought Baynard did a great job depicting. 💔

The last part is something that I honestly loved seeing in this book that could have been a complete downer (but in the best way). It reimagines what might have happened had the family not split and found a way to work with Oscar’s gayness and Constance’s need for sexual release. 🔥

This book just reminds me of how much I enjoy reading the lives of the spouses of famous Irish writers. If you are interested in reading about these often overlooked women, I would suggest this book and Nora by Nuala O’Connor who does a fantastic job of depicting the life of Nora Joyce, wife of James Joyce. 🎩

The things that I did find myself wishing more for were an earlier start of the book where we could have seen more of Oscar and Constance in their married life and the dynamic they had. I also found myself wishing that this was longer so that I could wallow in grief with the characters who are really, real life figures. 📝

Big thank you goes out to Algoquin Books and NetGalley for accepting my request to read this in exchange for an honest review, and to the author, Baynard, for writing a wonderful depiction of the Wildes. 💚

Publication date: September 17!

Overall: 4.25/5 ⭐️

Louis Bayard's "The Wildes: A Novel in Five Acts" is a captivating and poignant exploration of Oscar Wilde's family in the wake of his infamous scandal and imprisonment. Bayard masterfully brings to life the often-overlooked perspectives of Wilde's wife Constance and their two sons, Cyril and Vyvyan.

Set in Victorian England and during World War I, the book gives a deep and emotional look at a family dealing with scandal, societal pressures, and figuring out who they are.


The novel's structure, divided into five acts, cleverly mirrors Wilde's own theatrical works. Bayard's dialogue sparkles with wit reminiscent of Wilde himself, making the characters leap off the page.

What sets this book apart is its focus on the aftermath of Wilde's downfall. We follow Constance and the boys into exile, experiencing their struggles to rebuild their lives and identities. The sections featuring Cyril in the trenches of World War I and Vyvyan's post-war search for answers are particularly moving, offering a unique perspective on the long-lasting impact of scandal and societal prejudice.

Bayard's prose is both elegant and accessible, striking a perfect balance between historical accuracy and emotional resonance. His portrayal of Constance is especially nuanced, painting her as a complex woman grappling with love, betrayal, and her own ambitions.

The novel's final act, which brings the characters together in an imagined scenario, is a stroke of genius. It offers a bittersweet "what if" that will leave readers pondering long after they've turned the page.

Ng, shedding new light on a familiar historical figure by focusing on those who stood in his shadow.

Being a lover of history, writers and this author's previous works - I expected to be as enthralled by this one. Sorry to say I was not.

I'm not sure if it was the way the book moved during it's acts - the way the characters interacted seemed so stiff, so sad and hinted at lives wasted or if it was just my mindset while reading. It just definitely was not the right book at the right time.

So I know nothing about Oscar Wilde but he wrote one of my favorite short stories, The Canterville Ghost. As a child I was obsessed with the movie from the 1980s. Oscar Wilde was jailed for homosexuality and this book is about right before he is jailed and then what happens to his wife and children after. I enjoyed very much the humor in the book as it is not exactly a joyful story. The book is told through his wife's POV and then his sons' POVs. I found it an interesting read. I have no idea how much is factual but the author did talk to Oscar Wilde's grandson which is cool.

-"Isn't it queer the things that grown-ups never tell their children. In my experience, they are precisely what children most want and need to hear."

As someone who greatly enjoys historical fiction, especially surrounding this period in time, it is hard to believe that I havent read anything by Oscar Wilde, or anything about him either. However, that changed with this book. So beautifully written and clearly well-researched, it follows his life from right before he is imprisoned for homosexuality, and the effect that has on his family, as well as his wife and sons' lives for years afterward. Such an interesting concept, I was very eager to read it and I was not disappointed. I had not read anything by this author previously, but based on the amazing writing in this book, clear meticulous research, and bringing such well-known characters to life, I will be picking up others from Louis Bayard as well. If you love a good historical fiction book, please do yourself a favor and read this. You won't be disappointed, I promise.

This ebook was provided by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book simply wasn’t for me. The concept was something that I thought would be really interesting to me. Unfortunately, the book’s structure and prose made it difficult for me to enjoy reading. That’s not the fault of this author, and I’m sure many others will love this book and truly enjoy the style!

I came for the cover, and stayed for the tale. I had no idea Oscar Wilde was married, and honestly, if someone pressed me to name a homosexual of that time period, he would be the one who immediately came to mind. What I love about this author is that he doesn't go for the obvious and make it all about Oscar; he realizes an interesting story lies in the relationship, and with his wife, Constance. Really good read.

Thank you to Algonquin Books and NetGalley for a digital ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

The Wildes is an intimate look into the aftermath of being married to one of the most famous libertines of all time. How does one overcome the betrayal? The gossip, the hurt? This book delves into the aftermath of Oscar Wilde's downfall and imprisonment and how she picks up the pieces for herself and her sons.

I don’t know much about Oscar Wilde so this book appealed. I struggled to get into it. I liked Constance; her love for her boys but also her candor about motherhood and marriage. The structure of the book had me thinking Stage Left all the time, which I suppose was the point. I didn’t like the excerpts in between the acts and found the whole thing very clunky and disorientating.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

In 1895, Oscar Wilde was perhaps the most famous man in England. His plays, essays, and very witty self delighted the British and most of the English-speaking world. He was an aesthete, someone who affected a special appreciation of art and beauty--which was often seen as a sign of queerness, illegal in England at the time. But Wilde was okay! He had a wife and children he obviously adored. so he was just pretending, until . . .

"The Wildes, A Novel is Five Acts" purports to cover the aftermath of Wilde's trial and imprisonment and its impact on his wife and two sons. It's an aching story because of the love that existed within the family. His wife, Constance, understood her husband and tried to come to an agreement that would keep her and her sons safe while allowing Oscar his relationships with men. That all blew up with Wilde's obsession with Lord Alfred Douglas, his lawsuit against Douglas' father, and Wilde's trial and imprisonment. Constance and the boys fled England, they changed their last names and Cyril and Vyvyan were sent to far-flung boarding schools where no one would know them.

This part of Wilde's story is rarely covered, the trauma this caused for his sons who loved him so much and the early death of Constance. His sons never saw him again after he went to prison.

This is a compelling novel but probably would have been better without claiming to be about the "aftermath" of Wilde's life. The five acts are not well defined and one act runs into the other. A large chunk of the story takes place in the fall of 1892 when a young poet named "Bosie" Douglas joins the Wilde family on vacation in the English countryside, Perhaps structure the story as the "dissolution" beginning then. But "The Wildes" does something important--we see more revisionist stories where Victorian gay people are accepted or even embraced. Here we see how harsh the laws against homosexuality was and how even fame could not protect you if you were in the spotlight. The brutal punishment, and the disgrace. of the family were the norm, not the exception. Queer people were terrified of being "caught." The stakes were high.

Thanks to Algonquin Books and NetGalley for a digital review copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

In his book about Mary Todd Lincoln and his book about Jackie Kennedy, Louis Bayard explored the lives of women who were partnered with men who could or would not give themselves wholly to the marriage. This could be because of ambition, because of flaws of character, or because these men were queer and divided in their affections. I think that most people are familiar with Oscar Wilde- an ambitious, brilliant queer man whose sometimes dubious judgement in love got him thrown in prison and financially ruined. Before this book, I knew nothing about Wilde's family: his wife Constance and his children Cyril and Vyvyan. This book inspired me to do a lot of googling.

A good deal of the book is a comedy of manners. You can see that Bayard summoned the ghost of Wilde to etch the emotional temper of the Wildes and their houseguests- he's got great skill with dialogue and has the ability to delicately convey unspoken meaning. Constance, as with so many of the women Bayard has written about, is portrayed with empathy and admiration. She was perhaps wilfully blind to her husband's ways but it's hard to blame her. She was suffering from health issues and admitting that her husband was conducting an affair under her nose would set in motion a disaster from which there could be no return. So underneath all the comedy is an undercurrent of despair and tragedy.

In this case the acts of the father had deep repercussions upon his children. We get parts of this book from the POV of Cyril as a sniper in the trenches of WWI and of Vyvyan in the mid twentieth century, struggling along in his lonely life. Again, Bayard's dialogue is flawless, his humor cutting.

Aa per usual in Bayard's books, the great man himself is set to the side. He's a character but although his actions drive the story, he himself is a bit of a cipher. He isn't seen to be as important in the book as the people who are affected by his actions.

At the end of the book, the author allows himself to imagine what might have happened if things had worked out differently. What if Constance had risen above her circumstances and dared the unconventional solution? Bayard seems to long for a happy ending for his characters. If society hadn't criminalized homosexuality, if Wilde hadn't counted on his wits to save himself, if Wilde's lover hadn't been such a git, everyone might have had a gentler ending. But I don't think it's fair to put the entire burden for the solution on Constance, who was already dealing with so much. Why is it always the women, who have the least power in these situations, who must save everyone else?


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