Over 100 years after his death it seems that Oscar Wilde and his work are still as popular as ever. Recently his handwritten poem Heart’s Yearnings sold at an auction in London for £67,250 (approx.. €80,000 or $102,000).
Irish writer and poet Oscar Wilde was one of the most popular playwrights in London in the 1890’s. He was known during his life for his wit, choice of clothing and sparkling conversation and is also described as being one of the best-known personalities of the time; some might say a ‘celebrity’ in modern day terms.
(Source)
With Wilde’s more notable works being the play The Importance of Being Earnest and novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, the lesser known Heart’s Yearning was one of his earliest written poems and has now become one of the most valuable poems ever written by an Irishman according to Bonhams auction house in London.
Heart’s Yearnings was written in 1873 and was sold to someone in the UK for over four times it’s estimated price. The popularity of this work by Wilde follows the recent purchase of another of his poems, Les Ballons which also recently sold at auction for £16,250 (€19,000 or $25,000) and was the only known copy of this full poem in his handwriting.
Although Oscar Wilde is popularly known as a playwright and novelist it seems that his poetry is as popular as ever.
At Paperblanks we’re fans of Oscar Wilde too, here’s the journal we created as a tribute to him. Find out more about that book here.
About Paperblanks®: We have been producing superb writing journals for twenty years. We are book people and we believe that the written word matters. For more about Paperblanks®, visit our website at www.paperblanks.com
