Oscar Wilde had just published his first volume of poetry (Poems) when Patience was first produced, and it is clear that the character of Bunthorne (the 'fleshly poet') in Patience is not far removed from Wilde. Indeed, Wilde was in the audience on the first night of Patience (23 April 1881). The Sporting Times said "There with the sacred daffodil stood the exponent of uncut hair." Richard D'Oyly Carte had booked Wilde for an American lecture tour, and so the poet also turned up at Patience at the Standard Theatre in New York.
Wilde was convicted of sodomy in 1895 following his friendship with Lord Alfred Douglas. He spent two years doing hard labour, which made him financially bankrupt and spiritually destitute. He died on 30 November 1900, aged 46 - just a week and a day after the death of Sir Arthur Sullivan.
Frank Harris (1854-1931) - author of the famous (and infamous) My Life and Loves - was a well-known Anglo-American man of letters. He was a staunch friend to Oscar Wilde, one of the few who remained so after Wilde's prison term.
This book also contains the penetrating essay by George Bernard Shaw, My Memories of Oscar Wilde. Shaw was two years younger than Wilde, and a fellow Irishman.
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