"The Portrait of Mr W. H.," Textual Identity, and Oscar Wilde's "Incalculable Injury"

"The Portrait of Mr W. H." was published in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine in 1889 and a second "version," as it is often termed, was written at various points between then and 1893, but it did not appear until 1921 and then only in a limited edition. This second text, first tentatively titled The Incomparable and ingenious history of Mr W. H. and here called the Rosenbach manuscript, is twice the length of the earlier piece, and in its tone, tenor, and range of reference very different. This article argues why it is important to distinguish carefully between Blackwood's "Mr W. H" and the Rosenbach manuscript. There is much to learn about Wilde's compositional practices and developing interest in doing so. [120 words]