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Like a master chess player, Queensberry plotted his moves to
destroy Oscar Wilde. And Wilde walked right into the trap.
It was a high time for Wilde. Dorian Gray and The
Importance of Being Earnest were both critical and popular
successes as was another play, The Ideal Husband. Master of
the epigram and the bon mot, Wilde was the toast of London
and a popular guest at parties. Seemingly uncaring that Queensberry
was planning his downfall, he openly consorted with
"renters" -- young male prostitutes -- and held court in
some of London's finest establishments.
At the Albemarle Club where Wilde dined, Queensberry left his
calling card complete with misspelling of the libelous word:
"To Oscar Wilde, posing as a somdomite." Wilde felt he was
left with no other choice but to defend his honor and sue for
criminal libel. Queensberry had been stalking him, had threatened
his livelihood and now insulted him publicly.
Friends urged him not to sue, to shrug off the insult and move
on, perhaps traveling to America or the continent. But Wilde would
have none of it. He brought criminal charges against Queensberry and
demanded satisfaction.
The marquess expected no less and was prepared. In police court
on Bow Street he made the statement that not only had he called
Wilde a sodomite, he had done so for the good of the general public.
This last statement was important, because now if Wilde lost, the
government would have no choice but to pursue criminal charges for
gross indecency. To do otherwise would show favoritism for the
elite.
Wilde expected the trial to be little more than a chance to
exhibit his witty repartee on the stand. After all, it was up to
Queensberry to prove the truth of his statements, not for Wilde to
disprove them. The courtroom might have been a place of combat, but
it was the type of combat that Wilde, not Queensberry, could
exploit.
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| Sir Edward Clark, sketch |
Wilde approached one of England's most respectable barristers,
Edward Clarke, and asked him to take the case for the prosecution.
Clarke's reputation was one of immense respectability and
correctness. He did not often take cases in which he suspected his
client was guilty and he demanded honesty from those he represented.
His previous experience with sodomy cases was in the divorce court,
where he represented jilted wives.
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