Wilde Trials News Archive

Engraving of Wilde flanked by two helmeted, mustachioed police officers

New York Herald (European Edition), April 7th, 1895

Oscar Wilde Arrested!

The Wilde Trials International News Archive gathers international news reports covering the three trials of the Irish writer Oscar Wilde (1854-1900). Wilde’s trials were a global media event in the spring of 1895, triggering important debates about gender and sexuality, as well as art, justice, and press standards. You can now read, search, and compare news reports from around the world to learn how journalists reported the news and shaped opinion about the writer's trials and punishment. Read more.

News & Reports

Discover news reports on the Wilde trials from around the world and in several different languages.

The Love that Dare not Speak its Name

At the close of Wilde’s first trial for “gross indecency,” the prosecution asked him to explain “the love that dare not speak its name.” Read his famous reply, as reported in the New York Herald on May 1, 1895.

Wilde on the Treadmill

Read reportage from the leading French newspaper, Le Temps, detailing what hard labour and the dreaded treadmill might entail for Wilde, who on May 25, 1895 was sentenced to two years of incarceration in the English local prison system.

A diptych engraving depicting first a baccanalia and next, Wilde being kicked soundly in the buttocks

La Lanterne, May 2, 1895

Wilde Gallery

In the spring of 1895, newspapers worldwide illustrated key figures and scenes from Oscar Wilde’s three criminal trials. View rarely seen depictions of Wilde as well as iconic ones based on well-known photographs from the period.

Wilde Data

Access and download data files on the Wilde trials news reports.

Future Work

New newspapers continue to be added to the archive as well as updated features. The archive is related to a larger book project on Wilde News Abroad.