André Gide, a towering figure in French letters, draws upon his
friendship with Oscar Wilde to sketch a compelling portrait of the
tragic, doomed author, both celebrated and shunned in his time. Rather
than compile a complete biography, Gide invites us to discover Wilde as
he did - from their first meeting in 1891 to their final parting just
two years before Wilde's death - all told through Gide's sensitive,
incomparable prose. Using his notes, recollections, and conversations,
Gide illuminates Wilde as a man whose true art was not writing, but
living.