—A Flagship Project—
These pages document for the first time a detailed, comprehensive, and accurate record of all the dates, venues, and subjects of Oscar Wilde’s 1882 lecture tour of North America.
Wilde conducted 141 lectures over 11 months of 1882 and each has its own page beginning with the first lecture in New York City.
Each lecture is supported by details of the date, location, and subject, along with related ephemera—the standard being that all information is verified by a supporting primary source.
Previously Published Itineraries
There have been several approximations of Wilde’s lecture tour, principally the ones published in the following works:
Brasol, Boris, Oscar Wilde: The Man-The Artist. Williams and Norgate, 1938.
Mikhail, E. H., ed. Oscar Wilde: Interviews and Recollections. 2 vols. London: MacMillan, 1979.
Ellmann, Richard.Oscar Wilde.London: Hamish Hamilton; New York: Knopf, 1987.
Page, Norman.An Oscar Wilde Chronology. Houndmills: MacMillan; Boston: G. K. Hall, 1991.
Beckson, Karl E., ed.The Oscar Wilde Encyclopedia. New York: AMS Press, 1998.
Despite subsequent sources drawing upon previous ones, none of them agrees with any other, and each is incorrect in several respects. Therefore, in addition to the verified list, there is a side-by-side comparison list to demonstrate the evolution of scholarship and as a frame of reference.
Each lecture has its own page dedicated to verifying and illustrating each lecture. Use the calendar menu at the top of each page in this section.
Alternatively, go to the first lecture and scroll through page-by-page, or view the master list of all lectures in chronological order.
Go to the first lecture and scroll through.
View the master list in chronological order.
Owing to generic advertising at the time, and creative history since, there has been confusion about the subjects covered by Wilde in his various lectures. First in America and later in the UK and Ireland where he continued lecturing after his return.
These pages clarify the evolution of OscarWilde’s various lecture subjects:
