Wilde's parents and his Irish background, the actresses to whom he paid court, his unfortunate wife and his lovers, enemies as well as friends, clothes and even the decor are all presented in this biography The saga of his 1882 American tour and, later, his storming of the bastions of the French literary establishment are followed by the London of the 1890s, Whistler, the Pre-Raphaelites, Lillie Langtry and the Prince of Wales, and his affair with Lord Alfred Douglas