Oscar Wilde by Robert Keith Miller (review)

Book Reviews 115 discussion of the possibility that the Scarborough theater company will not outlast its writer~director, a certain justified arrogance. Ayckhoum adds hilarious tales to the growing Wolfit mythology but admits having learned something useful from him: "that theatre is show business." His account of the opening night of How the Other HalfLoves in Palm Beach, Florida, during which a serving trolley rolled off the raked stage covering "two of the most beautiful American people" with frigadella, and Phil Silvers required prompting from the audience, is a high-comedy theatrical nightmare. But the details of the day-la-day running of a successful provincial rep , the painful gestation of the yearly new play, the process by which the play is actually written in a period which rarely exceeds two weeks, the rehearsing of a new work both in a tiny Scarborough theater and in London's mammoth National Theatre - "Peter HaU is really on to something, having discovered a new way of keeping a company together by designing a theatre that no-one can find their way out of" - provide fascinating reading for anyone with any interest in Britain's contemporary theater scene. Both Ayckbourn and Watson are witty conversationalists, and their talk is generally enlightening, if sometimes mystifying because of a very English idiom and the occasional references to theater people unknown on this side of the Atlantic, The many photographs of Ayckboum productions around the world strongly make the point, which Watson does not belabor, that the dramatist's concerns are indeed universal. The critical analysis, however, is still to come. ALBERT E. KALSON, PURDUE UNIVERSITY ROBERT KEITH MILLER. Oscar Wilde. New York: Frederick Ungar 1982. pp. xii, 167. $10·95· In 1895 an outcry against Oscar Wilde was heard throughout the world. Even before IUs trials he was condemned by public opinion. Two ofrus plays, An Ideal Husband and The Importance ofBeing Earnest, running simultaneously in London, were withdrawn, His books were removed from booksellers' shelves. When adjudged guilty and sentenced to two years at hard labor, he was a broken, discredited, and defeated man. The story of Wilde's meteoric rise to fame and his catastrophic fall has been told many times from various points of view. Despite his grandiose faults and notorious vices, he remains a man and artist worthwhile writing about; indeed, it is likely that more studies have been written about Wilde, in more languages, than about any other literary figure who lived during the past hundred years, Innumerable books have been written by those who admired him, those who suffered him, and those who detested him. This latest addition to an ever increasing bibliography is a provocative distillation of all that has been written about one of England's greatest playwrights. In his opening chapter, Robert Keith Miller, a Wilde devotee, presents the biographical considerations; the basic facts, events, vicissitudes of Wilde's life are discussed insofar as they help to fathom his creativity. Biography assumes a supportive function in the chapters that follow, as they attempt to bring the man of letters into sharper focus. The second cbapter, accordingly, is a probing analysis of The Picture of Dorian Gray; the third and fourth are penetrating discussions of Wilde's dramatic efforts; the fifth delves - a bit too deeply, perhaps - into IUs fairy tales; the sixth II6 Book Reviews adversely criticizes De Profundis and enthusiastically lauds the Ballad of Reading Gaol; and the last chapter dispassionately examines his essays and concludes with a final evaluation of Wilde, aesthete and writer. Most of what this volume contains will appeal to the average reader, at whom it is aimed. Those with more than apassing acquaintance with Wilde's wit and works will be more interested in the speculations and critiques. To cite but one example: Miller, at loggerheads with virtually all Wilde critics, asserts that De Profundis "never approaches the level of artistry which characterizes Wilde's work at its best." For every reader who enjoys The Picture ofDorian Gray, Miller further proclaims, there are a dozen who can recall one of Wilde'5 comedies. Be that as it may, Miller quite properly emphasizes the importance of Wilde's plays. Wilde hoped...