WILD’S LAST STAND
Scandal, Decadence & Conspiracy During the Great War
Philip Hoare
In 1918, the Imperialist newspaper made a startling claim. The German Secret Service had the names of 47,000 members of the British establishment who were sexual deviants. and Britain was losing the war because Germany was blackmailing them. In the sensational libel trial that followed, the main targt was Maud Allan, the Salome dancer with high society connections and a drk secret. Oscar Wilde's devoted 'friend' Robbie Ross and his one time lover, Lord Alfred Douglas, both became embroiled in the bitter battle over Wilde's reputation.
The author uses original documents and archives to narrate the history of this bizarre scandal, made all the more unusual by having occurred during the final year of World War I. He produces a portrait of wartime society, telling of transvestites in the trenches, of drug clubs in London, and of the roots of British fascism, discerning the seeds of intolerance which would inform the troubled years to come. .
250 pages, plus 24 pages b&w photos, paperback
|
