Oscar Wilde is back in fashion, with his own work and books about him all over the place. One of my favorite places to encounter Oscar is in the mystery series by Gyles Brandreth, which is liberally sprinkled with Wilde quotes, anecdotes, locations and friendships.
The 1880s and the early 90s were Wilde time in London – he was unique unto himself, and set every trend. His friends included Bram Stoker, Arthur Conan Doyle, Sarah Bernhardt and many more. All these friends show up with roles in the various mysteries, and all the locations Oscar loved are described, as well as stories about his wife, children, lovers, wanderings, overspending… and through it all, in this series, he solves tangled mysteries, often involving royalty and historical happenings.
This one, the fourth in the series, includes the Prince of Wales and his eldest son (once thought to have been Jack the Ripper), Dukes and Duchesses, plus Lillie Langtry the actress and Antonin Dvorak, the composer.
So a great mystery, a fair amount of history, lots of atmosphere. Just the thing to get us all through this winter.