Merlin Holland
Christopher Merlin Vyvyan Holland (* 1945 in London ) is an English journalist and the only grandson of the writer Oscar Wilde . Holland was born to Vyvyan Holland and his second wife Thelma Besant. Merlin Holland lives in France.
Life
After the trial in which Oscar Wilde was sentenced to two years of hard labor for homosexuality , Holland's grandmother, Wilde's wife Constance Wilde , was forced to adopt the name "Holland" when a Swiss hotel owner showed her and her children the door. Merlin Holland considered changing its name back to Wilde in 2000 , but wanted to publish both of his books first in order not to be accused of wanting to gain an advantage from the famous name. After all, he didn't. "The fact of having to bear another name simply remains an eternal reproach to Victorian hypocrisy." (Holland)
In the Hollands family in the 1950s and 1960s, Oscar Wilde was an off-topic topic. “You have to imagine that we had no memories of him, my father, my mother and me. Besides, I think the French or the Germans have always seen Wilde primarily as an artist. At that time the English first saw him as a homosexual and a criminal. "(Holland)
At the age of five, Merlin Holland, ignorant and uninhibited, put his arm around the person sitting next to him, his best friend. The teacher separated the two. Holland later interpreted this as the typical British act in dealing with Wilde and his homosexuality. Holland also accuses its compatriots of the widespread idea that homosexuality is inheritable.
After studying languages at Oxford and working in the paper industry, Holland traded in ceramics .
Holland, who only devoted himself to writing at the age of 47, published several biographical books about his grandfather, including The Oscar Wilde Album and Oscar Wilde Cross-Examined - The First Complete Transcript of the Queensberry Trial , which has also been published in one since 2004 Radio play adaptation by Norbert Schaeffer is available.
Works
- Oscar Wilde Cross-Examined - The First Complete Record of the Queensberry Trial. Karl Blessing, Munich 2003, ISBN 3-89667-240-1
- The Oscar Wilde album. Karl Blessing, Munich 1997, ISBN 3-89667-077-8 (photographs)
- Oscar Wilde cross-examined . Editing and direction: Norbert Schaeffer. Prod .: NDR / SWR, 2004. (radio play; audio book edition by Random House Audio, ISBN 3-89830-930-4 )
Web links
- Literature by and about Merlin Holland in the catalog of the German National Library
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Holland, Merlin |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Holland, Christopher Merlin Vyvyan (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British journalist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1945 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | London |