It might be a strange premise to choose one of the most notorious figures of the 1800's, renowned for a life of pleasure and apparent flippancy and place him as an amateur detective. Absurd, even. And yet in Oscar Wilde and the Dead Man's Smile, Gyles Brandreth portrays Wilde as an astute observer of humanity and diviner of the individual's secret motivations, giving Wilde a less frivolous personality than that suggested by his recorded witticisms and flamboyant dress sense.
Brandreth has taken details of Wilde's life and used them to shape his narrative, so that the characters that Wilde encounters in the book and make up the cast of suspects are met on his tours of America and his journeys to Paris as well as Reading Gaol (before the Ballad). This also means that contemporary figures of the age are mentioned (P.T. Barnum) as well as incorporated as characters (Sarah Bernhardt, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) throughout the book, giving it an air of added realism.
Characters in Oscar Wilde and the Dead Man's Smile
The action of the book is centred around Wilde's relationship and friendship with Edmund La Grange and his entourage. La Grange is one of the era's most renowned actors and also happens to be a childhood hero of Wilde's and with his charisma, which to Wilde is magnetic, Oscar soon finds himself a part of La Grange's "family", assisting the great actor with a new translation of Hamlet to be performed in his Parisian theatre.
Families consist of a range of characters and La Grange's is no different.
His mother, Liselotte La Grange, accompanies her son everywhere, much to the chagrin of the others around him as she is a bitter woman concerned with the perpetuation of one thing: the La Grange name. She also happens to have an annoying little dog which is killed and buried in dirt in Oscar's book trunk, casting suspicion on him for its death. This represents the first murder in the book.
La Grange has twins, a son and daughter named Bernard and Agnes respectively. He is extremely proud of his offspring and the inherited acting talent that they show so clearly. But they are troubled souls.
Bernard spends his time at the Room of the Dead, a macabre freak show where visitors can observe the depraved suffering of those who are diseased except that Bernard participates in the melee of writhing bodies; he is no observer.
Agnes has an extremely close relationship with her father; some would suggest a little too close. As her father is devoted to the Epicurean pursuit of pleasure, an Ancient Greek philosophy, the question of whether propriety has been lost is a constant question throughout the book, especially when Agnes is taken to a clinic to escape the oppressive atmosphere of the theatre. There is no doubt that Agnes is in love with her father but assurances are made by her doctor that no union has taken place.
A stalwart of La Grange's company, Carlos Branco always plays the lesser part, bowing to La Grange's greater talent, always Polonius to La Grange's Claudius. Is this a cause for envy? Quite possibly although Branco, as most of La Grange's followers, appears loyal, grateful for the opportunities that La Grange offers him.
Then there is Marais, La Grange's business manager. Fleecing his master on his ticket sales at every opportunity, this detail is noticed by Wilde and after a couple of attempts on Oscar's life by an unknown subject fail to subdue our hero, could Marais be capable of murder or, at least, attempting it?
There are other characters worthy of mention: Gabrielle de la Tourbillon, La Grange's mistress or rather property as he believes he can "let" her to other men; Robert Sherard, biographer of Wilde and therefore, narrator of most of the book and finally, Eddie Garstrang, a gambler who's a good shot with a debt to pay to La Grange after losing to him at cards.
Plot in Oscar Wilde and the Dead Man's Smile by Gyles Brandreth
Oscar's involvement with La Grange and his company gives him the opportunity to observe the behaviour of those around him and at this, he is very astute. After the first murder of the dog, there is a gap of time before another innocent is killed. This is the valet who Oscar procures for himself in America, an ex-slave called Washington Traquair who he passes on to La Grange, a fact that bothers Wilde as he believes himself responsible for Traquair's death in some small part.
When Traquair is found in his room next to La Grange's dressing room, it appears that he has committed suicide by gassing himself but Oscar is not convinced. He quietly sets about trying to find the killer, absorbing and watching the people's behaviour around him to come to his conclusions.
Wilde notices a pattern forming in the murders, reinforced by the subsequent death of Agnes by drowning and concluded with Bernard being consumed by fire: all the elements represented - earth, air, water, fire.
The final curtain falls when La Grange is seemingly murdered by Carlos Branco who also looks like a likely candidate for the other murders. However, Wilde believes that Branco is innocent and Wilde achieves his goal when he convinces the police that La Grange in fact committed suicide.
The Twist in Oscar Wilde and the Dead Man's Smile by Gyles Brandreth
However, the conclusion that is reached for the sake of the French police is not the truth as Oscar uncovered it. Brandreth very cleverly dissects the action of the book in his final section, all of which we as readers have been privy to, and turns what was the established conclusion on its head. Minor details that appeared incidental throughout the book are shown to be significant and it is with some skill that he manages to reveal to us the true killer.
This accomplished ending and the fact that Brandreth really does bring Wilde to life as a human rather than a shallow aesthete makes this a highly enjoyable book.
Source
Oscar Wilde and the Dead Man's Smile, Gyles Brandreth, John Murray Publishers, 2010
Rachel Deeming - Rachel is a mother of two boys, one 18 months old and the other a busy boy of four. She used to work until recently as an English teacher ...
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