cover image Constance: 
The Tragic and Scandalous Life of Mrs. Oscar Wilde

Constance: The Tragic and Scandalous Life of Mrs. Oscar Wilde

Franny Moyle. Pegasus (Norton, dist.), $29.95 (400p) ISBN 978-1-60598-381-3

Filling a gap in literary biography, this meticulous account of the life of Constance Mary Lloyd and her marriage to Oscar Wilde proves revealing, if cumbersome. Moyle (Desperate Romantics) perfunctorily reviews Lloyd’s upbringing and devotes most of the book to her life with Oscar. Clearly wishing to correct a historically misbegotten view of their relationship, Moyle steadfastly chronicles the love and artistic and creative energy that “the literary couple” shared, from their work together for Woman’s World (a magazine Wilde edited) to the possibility of their collaboration on work that Wilde published under his name. Moyle leads the reader through Lloyd’s spiritual and political pursuits as a liberal married mother in Victorian London, and the frazzled grace with which she attempted to retain a semblance of decent life for herself and her two sons after Wilde’s imprisonment. Refreshingly, Moyle resists the temptation to let Wilde overtake the story even as Wilde’s behavior dictates much of Lloyd’s situation. The book drags, however, particularly in its middle third, as the names of characters and organizations in Lloyd’s life pile up and become a catalogue of facts, rather than a narrative. Still, Moyle has produced a mostly fascinating portrait of a smart, fierce, and misunderstood woman. (Dec.)