A major UK library has paid tribute to late Irish writer Oscar Wilde by issuing anew a reader's card in his honor, over a century after his initial got cancelled after his conviction for homosexual acts.
The celebrated author and dramatist was barred from the library's reading room in 1895 over his charge for engaging in homosexual relationships, which was a criminal offence at the time.
This replacement pass, which will be collected by his grandson, writer Merlin Holland, on Thursday, is intended to "recognize the wrongs and great pain" the writer endured, the library said.
The grandson said the reissued pass is a "beautiful act of reconciliation" and "I'm sure his spirit will be touched and delighted".
The decision to withdraw Wilde's pass for the library - then the London institution - was documented without explanation in the trustees' minutes for June 15, 1895.
The writer had been in prison for three weeks at the time after being handed a lengthy jail term with hard labour.
Wilde was found guilty after he was defeated in a defamation case against Lord Queensberry, who had accused him of being gay after learning that his offspring, Lord Alfred Douglas, was Wilde's lover.
Institutional rules at the time said anyone found guilty of a offence should have their pass cancelled.
'Jail correspondence deeply impactful'
The national library holds handwritten drafts of some of Wilde's most famous works including "The Importance of Being Earnest", "An Ideal Husband", A Woman of No Importance and "Lady Windermere's Fan".
Its collection also includes the letter "De Profundis", the correspondence he wrote to Bosie from the prison.
Merlin Holland, the only living descendant of Wilde, will collect the new card at a ceremony at the venue on what would have been his ancestor's 171st birth anniversary.
Speaking on the occasion, the grandson said he felt both "proud" of his relative and somewhat weighted by the responsibility of managing his heritage.
"Many correspondents share, 'Your ancestor's De Profundis had a profound effect on my life'" he explained.
"It has a note of positivity at the end... he's going to come out of prison and do something again".
"Readers have expressed, 'During deep personal despair, I turned to De Profundis, and your relative's jail writings provided immense comfort'".
The library chair, head of the British Library, described the author as "a foremost 19th-century literary personality".
She stated that by reinstating his reader pass, "we hope to not only honour Wilde's memory but also acknowledge the injustices and immense suffering he faced as a result of his conviction".
She continued that they were "delighted" to welcome his grandson - who is the writer of a recent publication, "After Oscar: The Aftermath of a Scandal" - to accept the library card on his behalf.
