Oscar Wilde Discovers America : A Novel

In January 1882, Oscar Wilde arrived in New York to begin a nationwide publicity tour. Mentioned in a few newspaper articles was the black valet who accompanied him. Wilde astounds the New World with his eloquence, while Traquair delights in the greatest year of his young life.

This compelling and unique fictional foray into American history follows a brilliantly conjured Oscar Wilde and his young black valet on a whirlwind tour across the country, from high-society Newport to the Deep South. In January 1882, Oscar Wilde arrived in New York to begin a nationwide publicity tour. Mentioned in a few newspaper articles - but barely a footnote in the history books - was the black valet who accompanied him. Louis Edwards rescues this figure from obscurity in a daring and richly imaginative work that blurs the line between fact and fiction as it follows Wilde and his gifted confidant, Traquair, on their yearlong adventure. Wilde astounds the New World with his eloquent lectures and larger than life presence, while Traquair delights in the greatest year of his youth: losing his virginity in a Washington brothel; meeting Jefferson Davis in Mississippi; falling hopelessly in love in St. Louis; and learning about his own family's secret history, including his parents' escape from slavery. Juxtaposed with Traquairs' experiences are those of his Caucasian best friend, Baxter, who goes to England and become enmeshed in a circle of luminaries including Lady Wilde, James Whistler, and Wilde's future wife, Constance Lloyd.