The Selfish Giant

About Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde (Author) Oscar Wilde was born in Dublin on 16 October 1854. He studied at Trinity College Dublin and Magdalen College Oxford. He later lived in London and married Constance Lloyd there in 1884. Wilde was a leader of the Aesthetic Movement. His only novel The Picture of Dorian Gray was first published in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in 1890. He published a revised and expanded edition in 1891 in response to negative reviews which criticised the books immorality. Wilde became famous through of the immense success of his plays such as Lady Windemere's Fan (1892) An Ideal Husband (1895) and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895).In 1985 after a public scandal involving Wilde's relationship with Lord Alfred Douglas he was sentenced to two years' hard labour in Reading Gaol for 'gross indecency'. His poem The Ballad of Reading Gaol was based on his experiences in prison and was published in 1898. After his release Wilde never lived in England again and died in Paris on 30 November 1900. He is buried in Père Lachaise cemetery.Alexis Deacon (Illustrator) Alexis Deacon graduated from the University of Brighton where he studied Illustration gaining a first class honours degree. Alexis Deacon was one of Booktrust's ten Best New Illustrators in 2008 and Beegu was a New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Book of the Year and shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal. Alexis lives in London.