Dorian Gray in Babylon Berlin

At the Oscar Wilde Society AGM, Dr. Yvonne Ivory explored how Oscar Wilde became a cult figure in the German-speaking world after his death. He had his fans among anarchists, individualists, socialists, aesthetes, expressionists and, especially, in the queer community. Some celebrated his life and mourned his martyrdom; others took up a mode of homage preferred by Wilde himself and let his work inspire their own new creations. Her talk examines how some Germans reimagined The Picture of Dorian Gray from the end of Great War into the Golden Twenties.

We are grateful to Dr. Ivory for her fascinating talk. You can watch it on our YouTube channel.