Constance Wilde's marriage has ended. Oscar is in prison and she has fled to Italy with their children to escape London gossip and public disapproval. Here she reflects on her marriage to Oscar, the confusing difference between his private and public self and whether she always knew that their marriage was founded on a different kind of love.

Despite her family's warnings, her frustration with her impossible husband's spending and drinking, his affairs and his prison sentence, Constance remains loyal and loving. Their story is told from Constance's perspective, with Oscar's interjections presented as footnotes.

In this witty and unsentimental reimagining, Meehan gives a voice to a woman often forgotten and explores the pain and frustration of living in the shadow of a complex man.

Willow Nash

Stem