Description

During a conversation about literary forgeries, Erskine tells his young guest that he has received as a legacy from a friend, the Cambridge scholar Cyril Graham what is purported to be an Elizabethan portrait. The painting depicts a beautiful young man in late-sixteenth-century costume, whom Graham claimed to be Willie Hughes, a boy-actor serving in Shakespeares company. This prompts Erskines guest to delve deeper into the mystery surrounding the real identity of the dedicatee and the inspiration of Shakespeares Sonnets, with unforeseen consequences.Far from being a dry exposition of a literary theory, The Portrait of Mr W.H. which the author himself described as one of his early masterpieces is an engaging and entertaining narrative exploring the intricate facets of trust and betrayal, historical truth and fiction, written with Wildes trademark dialogical sharpness and stylistic perfection.