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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Running Wilde, January 8, 2008
This review is from: Oscar Wilde and a Death of No Importance: A Mystery (Oscar Wilde Mysteries) (Hardcover)
"Oscar Wilde and the Death of No Importance" is a celebrity murder mystery, in which the poet is drawn into murder when, while keeping an appointment finds the bloody body of a boy. Not just any boy, but one whom Wilde befriended and and admired, so he dedicates himself to finding his killer, with his faithful Watson by his side in the form of the poet and future biographer Robert Sherard.
Given Wilde's tragic fate, it's no surprise that Brandreth opens the first of his planned nine-book series [!] with a tour of London's homosexual underground, with Wilde leading the way, bright as a sunbeam, a chatty and knowledgable guide. Brandreth deftly underplays this theme, never overtly stating what is really going on until the end, which shows a wonderful restraint. Oscar is clearly besotted with the beauty of boys, and as we follow the thread of Billy's life, we encounter characters who give off the faint whiff of corruption. Some of the scenes, such as a visit to a monthly lunchen attended by men and boys, give off an unwholesome vibe without descending into smuttiness. These are proper English gentlemen we're dealing with, and if they give their word that their behavior is innocent, who are we to disagree?
The only weak point in the book is the actual murder. A reasonably aware reader who takes a moment would have no trouble figuring out who killed Billy Wood and probably why. Brandreth plays fair with the reader, but the clues are limited and the suspects few, and more than that I cannot say without risking a spoiler to those who want to read it.
What carries the reader through the book, however, is Oscar. He dominates, he charms, he talks and talks and talks. But most of all, he displays the importance of being an earnest detective.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Oscar Wilde Does Double Duty, December 7, 2008
From [...]
TWO-AND-A-HALF STARS
What do you want to be when you grow up? When we're young, it's the question with a hundred answers. A fireman one day, a nurse the next, an astronaut after that. But time and talent and circumstance eventually push a sole option to the forefront, the rest receding to become favorite hobbies or fond memories. That this singular option consumes the majority of our time and energy should comes as no surprise, for it's difficult to do one thing well, let alone two or three. Would that Gyles Brandreth -- author of the literary tribute cum historical mystery Oscar Wilde and a Death of No Importance -- had understood that this also holds true for novels.
The premise is promising: Oscar Wilde, the playboy poet of Victorian England, enters a rented room in No. 23 Cowley Street on a warm day in late August and discovers the ritualistically murdered body of one Billy Wood, a young male prostitute. Wilde flees and, after gathering witnesses, returns to find all evidence of the crime has vanished. He may be a man more used to ink than ichor, but he doesn't plan on letting this one go unsolved. With the aid of Robert Sherard (great-grandson of William Wordsworth) and Arthur Conan Doyle (creator of Sherlock Holmes), Wilde plans to bust the conundrum wide open.
The execution, though, trips up A Death of No Importance. First, there are the minor irritations, such as Brandreth's idiosyncratic use of em dashes (which must have driven his editor mad) and the fact that Sherard, to whom falls narration duty, is just uninvolved enough in the proceedings to make one question why he was included at all. But what really sends the book sprawling is inadequate blending of the historical with the mysterious. Wilde's life was marked by impulsiveness and extravagance, two characteristics that don't mesh well with criminal investigation. One moment he's tracking down some vital bit of info, only to be interrupted by a ferocious desire for oysters and champagne. A return to unraveling the murder most foul ends up diverted by a jaunt to Oxford. Then Wilde takes a two-month sabbatical to write The Picture of Dorian Gray. Compelling genre work it's not, which is a shame because somewhere in the novel there's a worthy study of a literary icon or an interesting mystery -- but not both.
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13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
clever Victorian mystery, December 31, 2007
In 1889 literary phenomena Oscar Wilde rushes to 23 Crowley St. in London to keep an appointment and is let into the home by an anonymous woman. Upstairs he finds the beautiful male prostitute Billy Wood lying naked on a Persian carpet surrounded by candles, his throat cut from ear to ear. The next day he tells Arthur Conan Doyle about it; when they return to the scene of the crime, they find place void of blood except for a few drops on the wall and no body.
Doyle refers him to Scotland Yard Inspector Aidan Fraser who doesn't seem to have much interest in the case as there is no body or evidence. A package arrives at Oscar's home containing Billy's severed head. He believes Fraser will be interested in the case now but to make sure justice is done, the author conducts his own investigation and finds a plethora of suspect ranging from Billy's jealous step-father to a jealous lover. Oscar is determined to find out who the killer is.
Gyles Brandreth is a wonderful storyteller who creates a clever mystery while also providing a glimpse into literary late Victorian England. Oscar Wilde makes a great Sherlock Holmes and his sexual proclivities are implied for instance the club he belongs to is filled with sodomite members. This tale is told in the first person by Wilde's good and logical friend another writer Robert Sherard adding to the sense of a literary journey into the late nineteen century.
Harriet Klausner
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