It’s incredible that Oscar Wilde came out of jail not resentful but full of compassion. He had compassion for the horrid Lord Douglas, with whose relationship had led to his destruction. He had great compassion for his wife, who suffered greatly. And he had intense compassion for his fellow prisoners, and successfully campaigned for prison reform on his release.

His writing is brilliant, beautiful and true, but it’s his compassion, his ability to portray intense, deeply held conviction and feeling that is exceptional, and moving.

Colm Tóibín has done an excellent job editing. The juxtaposition of Wilde’s letters, including De Profundis, and The Ballad of Reading Gaol, complete with numerous footnotes for context, presents Wilde’s inner and outer life as a vivid whole.