In November of 1900, after years of fascination with the mysteries and rituals of the Roman Church, Wilde finally converted on his Paris deathbed and died a Catholic. "This remains his single claim to serious recognition as a poet" (Alexander). After his release Wilde left Great Britain, never to return, and wrote the Ballad of Reading Gaol under the pseudonym 'C.3.3.,' his prison number. During his incarceration he wrote the series of letters to Lord Alfred Douglas called De Profundis in which one catches glimpses of a sincerity heretofore entirely lacking in his work" (Calvert Alexander). "Wilde's imprisonment, like that of Verlaine's, was a personal blessing in the effect it had on his subsequent life and upon his art. The two years in prison spurred a final burst of creativity and Wilde's last years yielded his two most autobiographical works-De Profundis and the Ballad of Reading Gaol. Oscar Wilde was convicted of indecency and sentenced to prison in May 1895. Item #749 "EACH MAN KILLS THE THING HE LOVES" Early American printing of the Ballad of Reading Gaol, a handsome pocket edition, complete with the original slipcase. Book fine, glassine creased, slight abrasion to printed label, minor edge-wear to slipcase. Original straight-grained blue cloth (5 5/8 inches tall), marbled endpapers, clear glassine wrapper, original patterned paper slipcase with printed label. (Wilde) "C.3.3." The Ballad of Reading Gaol
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