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Book of the Week

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Serialised book readings, featuring works from various genres

Serialised book readings, featuring works of non-fiction, biography, autobiography, travel, diaries, essays, humour and history

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Book of the Week: Constance: The Tragic and Scandalous Life of Mrs Oscar Wilde

Book of the Week: Constance: The Tragic and Scandalous Life of Mrs Oscar Wilde: Episode 3

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Constance: The Tragic and Scandalous Life of Mrs Oscar Wilde

Episode 3

BBC Radio 4 - Book of the Week, Constance: The Tragic and Scandalous Life of Mrs Oscar Wilde, Episode 3

Now married with two young sons, Constance embarks on her own literary career.

Oscar and Constance are married with two young sons. But Constance is determined not to let motherhood stand in the way of her own literary ambitions.

Written by Franny Moyle. 

Oscar and Constance are married with two young sons. But Constance is determined not to let motherhood stand in the way of her own literary ambitions.

In the spring of 1895 the life of Constance Wilde changed irrevocably.
Up until the conviction of her husband, Oscar, for homosexual crimes, she had held a privileged position in society. Part of a gilded couple, she was a popular children's author, a fashion icon, and a leading campaigner for women's rights. A founding member of the magical society the Golden Dawn, her pioneering and questioning spirit encouraged her to sample some of the more controversial aspects of her time. Mrs Oscar Wilde was a phenomenon in her own right. 

But that spring Constance's entire life was eclipsed by scandal. Forced to flee to the Continent with her two sons, her glittering literary and political career ended abruptly. Having changed her name, she lived in exile until her death. 

Franny Moyle's biography tells Constance's story with a fresh eye and new material. Drawing on numerous unpublished letters, she brings to life the story of a woman at the heart of fin-de-siècle London and the Aesthetic movement. In a compelling and moving tale of an unlikely couple caught up in a world unsure of its moral footing, she uncovers key revelations about a woman who was the victim of one of the greatest betrayals of all time.


Reader: Rachel Atkins
Abridger: Libby Spurrier


Producer: Joanna Green
A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4.

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Franny Moyle's moving biography of Constance Wilde. Read by Rachel Atkins

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