Various
183 episodes listed below
Nineteenth-century celebrity, preserved at speaking distance.
Oscar Wilde- The Complete Interviews gathers newspaper encounters in which Wilde is observed, questioned, praised, needled, and framed as a public spectacle. The result is less a modern interview show than a serialized press room, full of dress, decorum, wit, irritation, and social theater.
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Oscar Wilde- The Complete Interviews is a formal, archival presentation of nineteenth-century newspaper interviews and related dispatches centered on Oscar Wilde. It is not casual biography. Each episode tends to arrive through a doorway, a railway platform, a hotel room, a ship deck, or a crowded reception, where the reporter first inventories the scene and only gradually permits the subject to speak. The pace is measured. The detail is abundant. Wilde's clothes, smiles, cigar, courtesy, theatrical languor, and irritation with newspapers are treated as matters of public importance, sometimes admiringly and sometimes with open mischief. Recent episodes place him in America, Canada, England, Amherst, St. John, Boston, Moncton, and the social traffic surrounding Mrs. Langtry's arrival. He speaks about art, Greek standards, Japan, architecture, pottery, soldiers' dress, newspapers, lectures, travel plans, and the burdens of being written about by people he thinks unequal to the task. The reporters are almost as present as Wilde. They judge the wallpaper of public life. They linger over Mrs. Langtry's voice, dress, composure, and reception, describe the managers and newspaper men around her, and turn a shipboard welcome into a study of beauty, money, attention, and theatrical commerce. The show is strongest when it lets quoted exchanges and period judgments carry the drama. One hears celebrity before it becomes streamlined. One also hears the abrasive habits of the age: appearance is scrutinized, provincial life is patronized, and moral language is used as a weapon as often as a principle. The result is a compact museum of public conversation, with Wilde as its recurring pressure point. He is both subject and instrument. Through him, the episodes examine aestheticism, press sensationalism, social rank, performance, travel, and the uneasy comedy of being famous enough to be mocked everywhere. For listeners interested in cultural history, the value is not only what Wilde says, but how completely each encounter reveals the manners of the paper that printed it.
Made for: For listeners drawn to nineteenth-century cultural history, literary celebrity, public manners, and the newspaper machinery around art and fame. It rewards patience with ornate reportage and sharp social observation.
What sets it apart: Unlike a modern biography podcast, the show leaves the period press largely intact as the dramatic medium. Wilde emerges through interview fragments, reporterly description, and the elaborate public gaze surrounding him.
Immerse yourself in the complete collection of Oscar Wildes English language interviews, where one of historys most eloquent conversationalists comes to life. This enchanting anthology showcases Wilde’s unmatched charm and wit as he captivates newspaper interviewers eager to uncover his famous “Oscarisms.” Explore his thoughts on a wide range of topics—from poetry and politics to architecture and acting. The interviews are thoughtfully arranged chronologically, offering a fascinating glimpse into Wildes evolving perspectives over time. While the focus is on his English interviews, the print version enriches the experience with intriguing articles, playful burlesque interviews, and reflection…
Oscar Wilde judges moonlit plaques and American staring; you get celebrity interviews before media training.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
Wilde visits Boston and turns buildings, manners, and artistic conditions into public opinion.
An 1882 visit to Boston becomes a neat study of Oscar Wilde in public: tired from the overnight railroad journey from Albany, installed at the Hotel Vendome, then moving through lunches, dinners, and drawing-room talk with practiced ease.
Grim history with a loose fuse.
Overlooked lives, read from the sources, talked through warmly.
The 8 January 1883 Liverpool Daily Post interview presents Oscar Wilde after his American lecture tour, with the Atlantic as its central provocation.
Mrs. Langtry says acting matters more than money, while America tests her work beyond aristocratic connections.
This 10 October 1882 Halifax Morning Herald interview presents Oscar Wilde in Amherst discussing beauty, journalism, literature, and democracy.
A Sunday Herald correspondent meets Oscar Wilde at Richfield Springs, New York, on August 17, 1882, after his American lecture tour.
Oscar Wilde says Canada cannot develop a national art until it has "perfect independence and absolute unity," contrasting Canada with the United States.
Oscar Wilde tells the Dayton Daily Democrat that aesthetic education means noticing beauty in nature and household objects, not putting Italian masterpieces in workers’ homes.
Oscar Wilde's train from Cheyenne arrived at Denver's Union Depot 30 minutes behind schedule on 12 April 1882, and a Tribune reporter met him in the smoking-room before a crowd shouting "hello Oscar." At the Tabor Grand Opera House he lectured for more than an hour in a black velvet court suit, arguing that American art should be "democratic" and mocking plates painted with moonlight and sunset scenes.
This episode recounts Oscar Wilde's 1882 arrival in Minneapolis and his interview with a Tribune reporter about his views on decorative art and aesthetics.
This episode features a historical newspaper article from 1882 about Oscar Wilde's lecture tour stop in Bloomington, Illinois, discussing his role as an exponent of aestheticism.
This episode discusses Oscar Wilde's poorly received lecture in Decatur, Illinois, in 1882, focusing on local criticism of his appearance, egotism, and perceived greed for American money.
This episode features a historical newspaper announcement from 1882 about Oscar Wilde's lecture on aestheticism and art decoration in Decatur, Illinois.
This episode recounts Oscar Wilde's arrival in Milwaukee in 1882, describing his appearance and promoting his upcoming lecture on aestheticism.
This episode features a newspaper interview with Oscar Wilde during his 1882 visit to Cincinnati, discussing his impressions of America, art, and his upcoming lecture on the English Renaissance.
This episode recounts Oscar Wilde's 1882 visit to Rochester, including his lecture at the Grand Opera House, an interview with a reporter, and detailed descriptions of his distinctive attire and demeanor.
This episode recounts Oscar Wilde's 1882 visit to Utica, New York, as reported in a contemporary newspaper, highlighting the public's mixed reactions to his flamboyant persona and artistic mission.
This episode features a historical interview with Oscar Wilde discussing his treatment by the American press and his aesthetic philosophy.
Oscar Wilde's 29 January 1882 Sunday Herald interview in Boston follows his arrival from Albany, his stay at the Hotel Vendôme, and his dinners with Oliver Wendell Holmes and J.