Oscar Wilde was born in 1854, the son of two Irish-English Intellectuals living in Dublin. Wilde’s mother was a poet, and his farther was successful surgeon. He studied classics at the University of Dublin, Trinity College, before travelling to England to study Greats at the University of Oxford, Magdalen College. At Oxford he became a leading figure in the fast developing field of aestheticism, inspired by his tutors, Walter Pater and John Ruskin. In 1882 Wilde travelled to America to give lectures on aestheticism. After returning to England he took up journalism and became well-known for his wit and humour. In 1887, Wilde became the editor of The Woman’s World, a magazine aimed at women. In the late 1880’s Wilde also began publishing his own short stories, including: The Happy Prince and Other Tales, and Lord Arthur Savile's Crime. In 1890 Wilde only book, The Picture of Dorian Gray, appeared in Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine. Over the next few years Wilde also penned several plays which proved hugely popular, and are still performed today. In 1895 Wilde was put in prison for charges of sodomy and indecency. Prison conditions took a serious toll on his health. He was finally freed in 1897 and went into exile. Oscar Wilde died three years later of meningitis, on the 25th November, 1900.
