Wilde O. (Bloksem J.) [Fake Wilde] Tsar’ zhizni (The King of Life).

A scandalous story of love between an abbot and a 14-year-old novice, which ends in a collective suicide on the altar. In this edition (the only Russian one), it is attributed to Oscar Wilde. It was actually written by Wilde's "friend" John Fr. Bloksem (1873-1928) and published in the only issue of the journal "Chameleon" published by him (1894). Written under the influence of Wilde and with his approval, the story ("The Priest and the Acolyte") was discussed in the same year at his trial. An anonymous translator attributed this text to Wilde in the preface and gave the whole book as a title the nickname of Wilde himself — "The King of Life". The book was banned in England, Russia, and even in Soviet times, in the 1940s and 50s (see Glavlit lists in: Blum A. Index Librorum Prohibitorum of Foreign Writers), and both Glavlit, Blum, and the catalogers of the RSL and RNB mistakenly indicate Wilde as the author of this book. Printed in the ephemeral publishing house "Icarus", in the font "antique".

A literary curiosity, a rarity. WorldCat and KVK do not find any copies of the book outside of Russia.

• In Stock
• Code: 2014d48

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