The cover of Oscar Wilde’s First Tragedy: The Composition, Production, and Reception of Vera; or, The Nihilists.
The Cover of Vera; or, The Nihilists: A Critical Edition of Wilde’s First Play.
My two books about Wilde’s first play, Vera; or, The Nihilists, are now available for purchase.
Oscar Wilde’s First Tragedy: The Composition, Production, and Reception of Vera; or, The Nihilists (828 pp., 180 b&w images) tells the complete and fascinating story of the play, from Wilde’s drafting of the manuscripts in 1879–1880 to the short-lived New York production in August 1883. I draw on materials never before consulted, including unpublished and uncollected letters about the play, interviews with Wilde and his collaborators, an overlooked contract between Wilde and the play’s star and co-producer Marie Prescott, and 50+ reviews and other first-hand accounts of the premiere.
Vera; or, The Nihilists: A Critical Edition of Wilde’s First Play (206 pp.) is the first edition of Vera to make use of all known manuscripts and author-annotated scripts. I correct many errors in previous transcriptions of manuscripts, show that one manuscript that was thought to be a transcription of material written by Wilde was in fact composed by Prescott, and provide a commentary that sheds light on Wilde’s literary and historical sources as well as actors’ performance choices and critics’ responses to the premiere.
For more information and links to purchase the books, visit my website.
I will be selling copies of these and my other books at the Oscar Wilde Society Luncheon on 6 June 2026, but I will probably only be able to bring books that have been reserved. For more information on how to reserve books, see here.