Oscar Wilde was ill, "When you are not on your pedestal you are not interesting." Wilde blamed himself, though, for the ethical degradation of character that he allowed Douglas to bring about in him and took responsibility for his own fall, "I am here for having tried to put your father in prison." The first half concludes with Wilde forgiving Douglas, for his own sake as much as Douglas's. The second half of the letter traces Wilde's spiritual journey of redemption and fulfilment through his prison reading. He realised that his ordeal had filled his soul with the fruit of experience, however
The Letters of Oscar Wilde addition, Holland asserts (from the introduction (xiii)): Here, Holland is referring to Wilde's legendary conversational skills, which have only been partially preserved in the published letters. The letters give an insight to Oscar Wilde's character, his sense of humor and his great affection and love for many people. The Letters of Oscar Wilde The Complete Letters of Oscar Wilde is a book that contains over a thousand pages of letters written by Oscar Wilde. Wilde's letters were first published as The Letters of Oscar Wilde in 1963, edited by Rupert Hart-Davis and published by his publishing firm. Merlin Holland revised