Oscar Wilde 1912. The book only briefly mentioned Wilde's life, but subsequently Ransome (and The Times Book Club) were sued for libel by Lord Alfred Douglas. The trial in April 1913 was in a way a re-run of the trials of Oscar Wilde. The trial resulted from Douglas's rivalry with Robbie Ross for Wilde (and his need of money). Douglas lost after a reading of "De Profundis" refuted his claims. Wilde's life was still waiting for independent, true scholarship when Richard Ellmann began researching his 1987 biography "Oscar Wilde", for which he posthumously won a National (USA) Book Critics Circle Award in
Oscar Wilde bitter it tasted at the time. Wilde was released from prison on 19 May 1897 and sailed that evening for Dieppe, France. He never returned to the UK. On his release, he gave the manuscript to Ross, who may or may not have carried out Wilde's instructions to send a copy to Douglas (who later denied having received it). "De Profundis" was partially published in 1905; its complete and correct publication first occurred in 1962 in "The Letters of Oscar Wilde". Though Wilde's health had suffered greatly from the harshness and diet of prison, he had a feeling of spiritual