I am happy to see you again, [but] this happens to be my birthday, Robert, and on each of my anniversaries I mourn the flight of one year of my youth into nothingness…

–Gyles Brandreth, Oscar Wilde and a Death of No Importance

WHODUNIT Starring Oscar Wilde with Arthur Conan Doyle and the poet Robert Sherard, this first of a mystery series appeals to the literature hound and the thriller fanatic.

Every book I read, if I enjoy it, is my favorite of the moment. Gyles Brandreth’s Oscar Wilde and a Death of No Importance is a “chilling Victorian tale based on real events, casting British literature’s most fascinating and controversial figure as the lead sleuth.” These 33 words, my entry into this weekend’s Trifextra Writing Challenge (click link to see details), are my favorite, as they encapsulate not only the wit and genius of Oscar Wilde but also his vanity and his style, reflecting his and our generation’s obsession with youth and our fear of age and death. Little did he know his clever words, insightful thoughts, and his Picture of Dorian Gray would be the key to his timelessness. What would be the key to ours? This historical fiction was authored by a premier royal biographer in Britain, so it is “cloaked in authenticity.” How clever to cast somebody like Oscar Wilde as well as Arthur Conan Doyle and Robert Sherard in a whodunit! Literature in a thriller? What a great experience!

TODAY’S WRITING TIP: ALL FICTION SPRINGS FROM FACT. KEEP YOURSELF INFORMED BUT ALWAYS LET YOUR IMAGINATION SOAR.

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