This book was terribly sad. While it was a fictionalized account (based on historical fact, one presumes), I found it very enlightening to contemplate what happened to Wilde from his family's perspective. Shamefully, I'd never thought about how the scandal must have affected them -- and I now see his lawsuit against the Marquis of Queensbury as terribly selfish -- and awfully stupid. My attitude was always "oh, those terrible Victorians; how they persecuted that man" -- which is certainly true. But his family had to change their name & hide out to escape censure for HIS transgression. I had also not known that his wife suffered from an illness -- which sounded like it might have been MS, based on the description -- and that an ill-advised surgery for it caused her death, while her children were still very young. I learned a lot from this book, but it certainly wasn't fun.

address that, It tells the stories of Constance Wilde, her dawning awareness of the affair, and the aftermath. She and her sons pay a pretty steep price. For me the book got off to a slow start. I actually put it away for a time. When I went back to it I found it to be more engaging.

Many readers are surprised that Oscar Wilde was married. Most know about his homosexuality and his time spent in Reading Gaol, but married? Indeed he was, and Louis Bayard's recreation of that marriage brings to life all the complexities, lies, and love entwined in that union. Especially poignant is Constance Wilde's ignorance and then growing awareness of the young men whom her husband invites into their home. Louis Bayard never disappoints me.

I enjoyed this book greatly. The structure was very unusual but I loved spending time in the heads of Wilde's family members. Bayard always writes characters with great insight, and this one was no different. It's not a typical structure, but knowing that, I appreciated the varied views.

I’m not sure what made me not enjoy this title. It could have been the structure, the implication that it was one of Wilde’s plays or just that something was “off”. fortunately, this wasn’t a rehash of the trial and focused more on Wilde’s wife, mother, one of two children and his lover but still I found myself skimming sections because of the flowery language.

2.5 stars, rounding up to 3. Honestly, I could as easily round down to 2. The structuring was just “off,” I felt. For example, a chapter would end and the next one basically would feel like a continuation of the previous scene, so what was the point? But more importantly, fully half of the book was set several years before Wilde’s trial, at a fateful family holiday in Norfolk. This bothers me because the book is billed as being about the AFTERMATH of the scandal and trial, about the effects and aftershocks for Wilde’s family. In the end, we get comparatively little of that, which was a huge disappointment.

Some things I especially liked. Constance as much more than just the passive almost bit-player she ends up in so many of the bio-pics I’ve seen over the years. Lady Wilde written as a kind of Downton Abbey Dowager Countess, complete with great Dame Maggie Smith zingers. Also, learning more about Wilde’s sons, and getting a little of their adult lives - though NOwhere near enough, nor as much as promised. Which brings me back to my original point, the many unfulfilled promises of this book, so as I close this review, I’m going to round down to a 2-star, “It was okay” review.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.