Editor: Aaron Eames
Assistant Editor: Darcy Sullivan
Consultant Editor: Donald Mead
Book Reviews Editor: Iain Ross
Performance Reviews Editor: Robert Whelan

The Wildean, first issued in 1992, is a leading peer-reviewed print journal of Oscar Wilde studies, published biannually in January and July by the Oscar Wilde Society. It is funded by the subscriptions of members of the Oscar Wilde Society and publishes articles, reviews and correspondence on a wide range of topics relating to Wilde and his circle.

The Wildean is MLA registered and indexed, and is held by leading academic libraries worldwide. All articles are available on JSTOR three years after publication.

Information about current and past issues of The Wildean and about other Oscar Wilde Society publications may be found on the Society’s website: www.oscarwildesociety.co.uk

Editorial Policy

The editorial policy of The Wildean is to publish studies of the life, works and times of Oscar Wilde and his circle. The aim is to print non-fiction material involving new scholarship or fresh insights which will interest Wilde specialists and also be accessible to general readers. In addition, important non-fiction works about Wilde published in English are reviewed as soon after publication as possible. Reviews in English of works in other languages are also published.

Full-length articles, reviews, short items and correspondence are all welcome. The Editors welcome contributions from established authors and from new writers in any part of the world.

Material already published elsewhere will only be accepted exceptionally, for example if it has been substantially re-written or if the original publication was in a form that would be inaccessible to most readers.

Personal reflections about the writer’s relationship with Oscar Wilde should be avoided, as should criticism, appreciation, or reflection on a particular work written by Oscar Wilde. Such pieces will not be accepted unless there is new scholarship involved.

Acceptance of Contributions

Articles will be submitted to members of the Editorial Board and other experts for peer review before acceptance. Acceptance of other contributions, including essays, reviews, letters and notes, is at the discretion of the Editor, Book Reviews Editor or Performance Reviews Editor.

Editorial Board

• Anne Anderson
• Anya Clayworth
• John Cooper
• Geoff Dibb
• Eleanor Fitzsimons
• Nicholas Frankel
• Jarlath Killeen
• Angela Kingston
• Laura Lee
• Rob Marland
• Franny Moyle
• Iain Ross
• John Sloan
• Philip E. Smith
• John Stokes
• Matthew Sturgis
• Robert Whelan

Guidelines for Contributors

The language accepted for publication is English. Any passages in other languages must be accompanied by an English translation immediately after the quotation.

Articles submitted for The Wildean should be accessible to the general reader. Concision and clarity are essential. Jargon and an overly dense academic or analytical style should be avoided. Authors should be aware that the readership of The Wildean includes a substantial number of well-informed lay readers who are not professional academics.

The journal aims to facilitate a lively but always respectful exchange of views regarding Wilde and Wilde studies, avoiding criticisms that are personal in nature and any gratuitous attacks on professional reputations.

It is the contributor’s responsibility to seek any necessary permission to use copyright material, as are reproduction and permissions costs.

Style Guide

British norm. The Oxford Manual of Style (Oxford University Press, 2002) provides a useful detailed guide which should generally be followed. Adjustments may be made editorially.

The Wildean uses British spellings and punctuation, for example use single marks for quotations (‘thusly’) and not double, except when used within a quotation. Use single spaces between sentences, not double. Space initials in names: G. B. Shaw.

Key Terms

• The Yellow Book where the actual title is important, and the Yellow Book where it is not. For example: ‘The Bodley Head launched a new periodical, The Yellow Book, in 1894’ but ‘Max Beerbohm, H. G. Wells and Richard Le Gallienne were all contributors to the Yellow Book’.
• Salomé where the French language version is referred to, Salome for the English and German versions.
• ‘The Portrait of Mr W. H.’ for the magazine version, The Portrait of Mr W. H. for the book.
• Aesthetic Movement
• Marquess of Queensberry
• Lillie Langtry
• Pierre Louÿs

References: Works Cited

All articles carry a list of references in which the works cited are given in the following format:

Books:
Author Name [given name followed by family name] (DATE) Title of Book: Subtitle of Book, Place of Publication: Publisher

• Thomas Wright (2008) Oscar’s Books, London: Vintage
• Merlin Holland & Rupert Hart-Davis (eds) (2000) The Complete Letters of Oscar Wilde, London: Fourth Estate
• Oscar Wilde (2000) The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde, Vol. 1: Poems and Poems in Prose, eds. Bobby Fong & Karl Beckson, Oxford: Oxford University Press

Articles:
Author Name [given name followed by family name] (DATE) ‘Title of Article’, Title of Journal Volume/Issue Number, Page Number/s of the Article

• Iain Ross (2021) ‘Sunflowers’, The Wildean 59, 121
• Amy V. Hitchings, Geoff Sawers & George H. J. Stokes (2021) ‘Before and After Oscar Wilde: Life in the Berkshire Prisons, 1850-1920’, The Wildean 58, 63-81

Notes

Footnotes are an interruption to the reader and should generally be avoided.

Endnotes should give the family name of the author followed by the page number. The reader will be able to get the full details from Works Cited. If more than one title is being referenced from the same author, the author’s family name should be followed by the date of the relevant publication in brackets:

1. Sturgis (2019) 12
2. Ellmann, 345
3. Sturgis (2018) 678
4. Holland & Hart-Davis, 910

Details of newspaper and magazine articles can be included in the endnote unless they constitute an important and recurring part of the source material, in which case they should also appear in Works Cited.

The abbreviations p. and pp. are not used to indicate page numbers.

Key Texts

References to Wilde’s works should use the Oxford English Texts (OET) editions where possible. Other versions may be used where no OET volume has been published, as with A Woman of No Importance, or if there is a reason established within the submission.

The Editor will assist with OET referencing where the volumes are not accessible to the contributor.

Illustrations

Where appropriate, illustrations in black and white or colour, photographs, drawings, etc., may be included. Necessary permissions should be obtained by the contributor. Reproduction and permissions costs of copyright material are the contributor’s responsibility.

Length

For scholarly articles, criticism and essays, 3,000-8,000 words is the preferred length. For reviews, up to 3,000 words is preferred.

Charges

No submission fees or page charges are required.

Copyright

Copyright ownership: the Oscar Wilde Society.

JSTOR

Articles published in The Wildean will appear on the JSTOR database of academic journals three years later. Submission of articles to The Wildean will be taken as agreement to publication on JSTOR.

Format

Text should be submitted in Word by email to the Editor at aaron.philip.eames1@gmail.com.

Aaron Eames
Editor