 |
Alfred Bruce DouglasEnglish poet and translator
Date of Birth: 22.10.1870
Country:  Great Britain |
Content:
- Alfred Bruce Douglas: English Poet and Translator
- Relationship with Oscar Wilde
- Legal Battle and Imprisonment
- Later Life and Controversial Actions
- Later Years and Death
Alfred Bruce Douglas: English Poet and Translator
Early Life and EducationAlfred Bruce Douglas, known as Bosie, was born on October 22, 1870, in Ham Hill House, Worcestershire. He was the third son of the 9th Marquess of Queensberry and his first wife, Sibyl Montgomery. From a young age, Douglas was a favorite of his mother, who affectionately called him Bosie. He received his primary education at Winchester College from 1884 to 1888 before attending Magdalen College, Oxford from 1889 to 1893. Douglas left Oxford without obtaining a degree, partly due to the conflicts and animosity between him and his father.
Relationship with Oscar Wilde
In 1891, Douglas met Oscar Wilde, a well-known writer and playwright who was then married and had two sons. Despite Wilde's marital status, they soon became lovers. Douglas, often referred to as Bosie by his friends, portrayed himself as a spoiled, carefree, audacious, and extravagant young man, relying on Wilde to satisfy his tastes and desires. The lovers frequently argued and quarreled but always reconciled. Douglas' father, the Marquess of Queensberry, suspected that their relationship was more than friendship and asked his son to leave Oxford without obtaining a degree. He even threatened to cut off his financial support. In response, Douglas sent a telegram to his father, calling him amusing.
The relationship between father and son became extremely strained, and the Marquess of Queensberry was driven to madness. In his subsequent letters, he threatened to give his son a "good thrashing" and accused him of being "insane," promising to create a public scandal if Alfred continued his relationship with Wilde. When Douglas' older brother, Lord Drumlanrig, the heir to the marquessate of Queensberry, died in a suspicious hunting accident in October 1894, rumors circulated that Drumlanrig had a homosexual relationship with Prime Minister Lord Rosebery. Consequently, the elder Queensberry, in order to save his other son, initiated a public persecution of Wilde.
Legal Battle and Imprisonment
In response, Oscar Wilde filed a lawsuit against Queensberry for criminal libel. However, the case turned against Wilde. Douglas' father hired private detectives to document Wilde's homosexual encounters with his son. Wilde was accused of committing sodomy, and the evidence included Douglas' poem "Two Loves" (1892), in which homosexuality was referred to as "love" that dare not speak its name. On May 25, 1895, Wilde was found guilty and sentenced to two years of hard labor. Douglas was sent into exile in Europe. While in prison, Wilde sent Douglas a lengthy critical letter known as "De Profundis," in which he detailed his experiences, thoughts, and feelings towards himself and Alfred Douglas.
Later Life and Controversial Actions
After his release from prison in 1897, Wilde reunited briefly with Douglas, and they lived together for a while. However, under pressure from their families, they left England and moved to Naples. Soon after, they separated for good. Wilde spent the remainder of his life in Paris, while Douglas returned to England in late 1898. Oscar Wilde died in France on November 30, 1900, in poverty, and Douglas was the chief executor of his funeral, engaging in a dispute with Robert Ross, one of Wilde's closest friends, at the edge of the grave.
After Wilde's death, Douglas formed a close friendship with Olivia Eleanor Custance, a wealthy heiress and poet. They married on March 4, 1902, and had one son, Raymond Wilfred Sholto Douglas (November 17, 1902 – October 10, 1964). More than a decade after Wilde's death, and following the publication of the complete version of "De Profundis" in 1912, Douglas turned against his former friend, condemning his homosexuality. He called Wilde the "greatest force for evil that has appeared in Europe within the last three hundred and fifty years" and expressed deep regret for his encounter with Wilde. Douglas engaged in a series of legal battles, suing and being sued for defamation under civil and criminal laws.
On the personal front, Douglas accused Arthur Ransom in 1913 of defaming him in the book "Oscar Wilde: A Critical Study." The court ruled in favor of Ransom. In 1923, Alfred Douglas was found guilty of libeling Winston Churchill and subsequently spent time in prison. In 1911, Douglas converted to Catholicism, and after his own incarceration, his attitude towards Oscar Wilde softened significantly. Throughout the 1930s until his death, Douglas corresponded with several notable individuals, including Mary Stopes and George Bernard Shaw.
Later Years and Death
Raymond, Douglas' only child, was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1927 and was admitted to St. Andrew's psychiatric hospital. Alfred Bruce Douglas passed away from heart failure in West Sussex on March 20, 1945, at the age of 74. He was buried at the Franciscan Monastery in Crawley on March 23, alongside his mother, Sibyl, the Marchioness of Queensberry, who died at the age of 91. A single tombstone covers both their graves.
