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The third in the Oscar Wilde mystery series lacks the sparkle and the innovative quality of the first two novels. Though I'm sure some readers will feel that they're getting more for their money, for me there was just too much biography here and too little mystery. Information such as the fact that Wilde inaugurated a new mining shaft in Colorado and the fiction that Louisa May Alcott outed herself to him seems so much padding, and even the bon mots appear forced this time round. One can get only so much amusement out of seeing Lady Bracknell's "future" speeches put here into the mouth of Lady Wilde, his mother. The novel covers the years 1881-1883, framed by Wilde's conversations with Arthur Conan Doyle during Christmas 1890 and New Year’s 1891. These are years in which Wilde made his actual American tour and in which he meets the fictional Paris-based Edmond La Grange acting company. It is also the period in which he first encounters his "Watson": biographer Robert Sherard, who serves as the narrator of all three mysteries. The first death does not even occur until page 50 and seems more bizarre than significant. (To say more is to risk spoiling some of the fun there is in the novel.) The first sign that a vicious murderer is at large waits till page 113. By the last pages, five associates of the troupe of actors have met their end following a bizarre pattern that only Wilde identifies. Each death is associated with one of the Greek elements: earth, air, water, fire, and "the quintessence." Wilde reveals the ingenuous solution to the crimes (and the full meaning of the title) over seven years later to the appreciative Doyle in London. In the dizzying turns that Wilde takes in setting forth his solution, the reader can appreciate how scrupulously fair a game Brandreth./Sherrard has played. One only wishes that the rest of the novel had risen to the high level of the denouncement. As usual in the series, a number of other famous names show up. Actress Sarah Bernhardt, painter Jacques-Emile Blanche, and politician George Palmer play roles. In addition to Alcott, one catches glimpses of such Americans as James Russell Lowell and Phineas Taylor Barnum. Repeated mention is made of Constance Lloyd, Wilde’s future wife. One of the things about the series that intrigues me is the way Brandreth reminds readers that this gay icon might in fact better be viewed as a bisexual. The present novel is entirely heterosexual. Still, clever foreshadowing of Wilde’s martyrdom occurs at several places across the novel. He visits Reading Gaol. At one point in connection with both Sherard (born a Kennedy) and a fictional character, Wilde reflects that he hopes his children will never have reason to change their names. And of course, Paris is where he finished his life. One ends pondering why a book with so many captivating aspects to it should fall so flat. Whereas before I was fascinated by the author’s clever mixture of fact and fiction, of Wilde's - and Doyle's - own words used with such panache to such great effect, here I felt in the presence of some precocious but unformed graduate student. Still, I dare say diehard fans will love the work.
Reviewed by Drewey Wayne Gunn, August 2009
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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