On April 13, the Clark hosted Merlin Holland for a conversation on his recent book After Oscar, an account of the many truths, untruths, and stories surrounding the afterlife and legacy of his grandfather, Oscar Wilde. Holland has been a guest and researcher at the Clark many times, and we were pleased to have him back for his first visit in several years.
Bookended by signings of After Oscar, this program was structured as a conversation as opposed to a lecture, which was fitting for a book as interrogative and personal as this one, which is the result of many years of archival research, but also draws heavily on Merlin’s own experience and family archives.Seated on the drawing room stage, Merlin and I discussed his grandfather’s legacy and the role that both he and his father, Vyvyan Holland, have taken in shaping and interacting with it, and Merlin was also able to share some images from his archive and his research, including family pictures, and Oscar’s British Library reader’s card, which was reinstated and reissued last year.
-Rebecca Fenning Marschall, Manuscripts and Archives Librarian