Book excerpt: .Includes entertaining, thumbnail biographies of the key figures at the forefront of the theme or movement, or who were closely connected to the personality in question .Updated from the highly successful seriesCharacter SketchesandInsights, and refreshed with a contemporary design and accessible format One of literature's most witty personalities, Oscar Wilde captivated London society. In this perceptive appraisal of Wilde and those around him - including Aubrey Beardsley, Sir Max Beerbohm and Wilde's lover, Lord Alfred Douglas (Bosie) - Simon Callow captures the spirit of one of Britain's most feted, but ultimately tragic literary figures.