As a high school English teacher, I have a passion for finding books that are new and different and that are written with great attention to the English language. The Oscar Wilde Murder Mystery series meets all these standards.
The main characters in this murder mystery series are inspired by real-life historic figures; Oscar Wilde (a 19th century writer who really needs no introduction) and Robert Sherard (Oscar Wilde’s true-life friend, also a writer and journalist). The first two books in the series also feature the character of Arthur Conan Doyle (who authored the Sherlock Holmes series). I’ve had the pleasure of reading three out of the four books in the series, and each book is intriguing and full of clever twists and turns. The books also contain rich language that I find useful for my classroom teaching.
In the first three books, Robert Sherard (Oscar Wilde’s real-life biographer) serves as the narrator. The fourth story is told through diary entries, letters, telegrams and newspaper articles. Throughout the series, the main character, Oscar Wilde, works to solve different murder mysteries by employing the same deductive reasoning methods used in “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” (written by his friend, Arthur Conan Doyle).
In the first book, titled “Oscar Wilde and a Death of No Importance,” Oscar discovers the murdered body of his sixteen-year-old friend, Billy Wood. In a hunt for the murderer, Wilde (often accompanied by his friend, Robert Sherard) weaves his way through London’s underground counterculture, meeting trouble along the way. As with the entire series, the first book is written in great detail, making the reader’s imagination burn with anticipation.
In the second book (“Oscar Wilde and a Game Called Murder), Oscar playfully creates a game called “murder” at one of his dinner parties. The question: who would you kill, if you had the chance? It’s supposed to be all in fun. However, one of the “victims” is actually found dead the very next day. In this book, Wilde and his friends must dig up evidence by becoming acquainted with the politicians, thespians and even circus freaks of London.
The third book (“Oscar Wilde and the Dead Man’s Smile”), takes the readers back to Oscar Wilde’s early days in Paris, France. In this book, Wilde has come to Paris for pleasure and work. While collaborating with France’s most famous theatre actor and manager, Edmond La Grange, Wilde is thrown into a world of family murders and bizarre events. To solve the mysteries, he must go into the dark depths of Paris; including an insane asylum and Reading Gaol.
In every story, Brandreth phenomenally succeeds at intertwining fiction with historical fact. Using the language of the time period, he describes every scene and every character in rich detail. Most importantly, Brandreth succeeded at including the unique characteristics of the real-life Oscar Wilde in the series.
Because these books are filled with decadence and bizarre characters, I believe that even those who are not typically drawn to Victorian-era mystery novels would find it pleasing. Although the language is true to its time, it is by no means stuffy. This murder series offers a little bit of everything (humor, thrill, curiosity and, of course, murder), and is great for those who teach English or have a great interest in the English language.
*Note: There is now a fourth book; “Oscar Wilde and the Vampire Murders.” I have not had the opportunity to read this book, so I cannot recommend it.
However, it did receive four out of five stars on Amazon.*
Lori Hutchison teaches high school English and owns the site Masters in Teaching. In her spare time, she enjoys writing guest blog posts about various topics of interest; especially reading and writing.
