In 1895 Oscar Wilde fought a spectacular duel in court with his fellow Irishman, Edward Carson.
The trial resulted from an ongoing feud between Wilde and the Marquess of Queensberry who was enraged at the love affair between Wilde and his son, Lord Alfred Douglas. On the opening night of “The Importance of Being Earnest” Queensberry left a card at Wilde’s club accusing him of being a “sodomite”. Rejecting good advice to simply tear up the card Wilde sued the Marquess for libel.
Queensberry instructed the up-and-coming lawyer Carson to defend the case. Wilde knew Carson from their young days as fellow students in Ireland. When told that Carson would be against him, he is reported to have said, “No doubt he will perform his task with all the added bitterness of an old friend”.
The stage was set for a cataclysmic showdown in court that became one of the most scandalous trials of the Victorian era. Wilde, the prosecutor, was quickly turned into the defendant by Carson’s relentless and devastating cross examination. Forced to withdraw the case Wilde was soon arrested and himself put on trial. It led to Wilde’s ruin and imprisonment for homosexuality.
The outcome of the trial could not have seen a greater contrast in the fates of both men.
For Carson it was a cause celebre that made him famous and led to a glittering political career. After his time in prison Wilde was forced to leave England. He would never see his wife Constance or their two children again and ended his days as an impoverished exile in Paris.
But over a century later their legacies are reversed. Wilde’s literary genius is universally acclaimed, and he is revered as a gay martyr. Yet Carson is largely a forgotten figure.
From a uniquely personal perspective, presenter Merlin Holland evocatively recounts the tale of his grandfather’s demise and asks the question – does Edward Carson deserve his reputation as the man who destroyed Oscar Wilde?
The film also features key contributions from actors Simon Callow and Rupert Everett who wrote, directed, and starred as Oscar Wilde in his own film “The Happy Prince.”