A Peep into the Past
Encyclopedia
A Peep into the Past is a 1923 unauthorized and privately printed essay on Oscar Wilde
by caricaturist
and parodist
Max Beerbohm
.
Beerbohm wrote this satire on Oscar Wilde in late 1893 or early 1894 for publication in the first number of The Yellow Book, but it was held over to make way for Beerbohm's essay A Defence of Cosmetics
, which appeared in that journal in April 1894. The essay was possibly withheld because of the impending Wilde scandal. A Peep into the Past was never published in The Yellow Book. In 1894 Wilde was at the height of his fame. In A Peep into the Past Beerbohm portrays Wilde as a staid old gentleman with a somewhat suspicious procession of page-boys passing backwards and forwards through his neighbourhood in Chelsea
: "Once a welcome guest in many of our Bohemian haunts, he lives a life of quiet retirement in his little house in Tite Street
with his wife and two sons, his prop and mainstay, solacing himself with many a reminiscence of the friends of his youth"... "The old gentleman" (Wilde was 39) continues to write; indeed, he "has not yet abandoned his old intention of dramatising Salome
..."
A cutting commentary on Wilde's club life, Beerbohm writes, "He never nowadays even looks at the morning papers, so wholly has he cut himself off from the society, though he still goes on taking the Athenaeum, in the hopes that it may even now do the same to him." In 1894 The Athenaeum
was London's premier club for eminent men of letters and science. Its membership was made up of the greatest British
writers in the nineteenth century. Wilde's name is a conspicuous absence.
Printed privately in 1923 in a limited edition of 300 copies on Japan Vellum, A Peep into the Past was published in a glassine wrapper with a card slipcase and box. The first four pages are a facsimile of Beerbohm's original handwritten manuscript
.
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
by caricaturist
Caricature
A caricature is a portrait that exaggerates or distorts the essence of a person or thing to create an easily identifiable visual likeness. In literature, a caricature is a description of a person using exaggeration of some characteristics and oversimplification of others.Caricatures can be...
and parodist
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
Max Beerbohm
Max Beerbohm
Sir Henry Maximilian "Max" Beerbohm was an English essayist, parodist and caricaturist best known today for his 1911 novel Zuleika Dobson.-Early life:...
.
Beerbohm wrote this satire on Oscar Wilde in late 1893 or early 1894 for publication in the first number of The Yellow Book, but it was held over to make way for Beerbohm's essay A Defence of Cosmetics
A Defence of Cosmetics
A Defence of Cosmetics is an essay by caricaturist and parodist Max Beerbohm and published in the first edition of The Yellow Book in April 1894. Aged 21 when the essay was published, it established his reputation...
, which appeared in that journal in April 1894. The essay was possibly withheld because of the impending Wilde scandal. A Peep into the Past was never published in The Yellow Book. In 1894 Wilde was at the height of his fame. In A Peep into the Past Beerbohm portrays Wilde as a staid old gentleman with a somewhat suspicious procession of page-boys passing backwards and forwards through his neighbourhood in Chelsea
Chelsea, London
Chelsea is an area of West London, England, bounded to the south by the River Thames, where its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above...
: "Once a welcome guest in many of our Bohemian haunts, he lives a life of quiet retirement in his little house in Tite Street
Tite Street
Tite Street is a street in Chelsea, London, The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, England, just north of the River Thames. It was created in 1877, giving access to the Chelsea Embankment. In the late nineteenth century the street was a favoured and fashionable location for people of an...
with his wife and two sons, his prop and mainstay, solacing himself with many a reminiscence of the friends of his youth"... "The old gentleman" (Wilde was 39) continues to write; indeed, he "has not yet abandoned his old intention of dramatising Salome
Salome (play)
Salome is a tragedy by Oscar Wilde.The original 1891 version of the play was in French. Three years later an English translation was published...
..."
A cutting commentary on Wilde's club life, Beerbohm writes, "He never nowadays even looks at the morning papers, so wholly has he cut himself off from the society, though he still goes on taking the Athenaeum, in the hopes that it may even now do the same to him." In 1894 The Athenaeum
Athenaeum Club, London
The Athenaeum Club, usually just referred to as the Athenaeum, is a notable London club with its Clubhouse located at 107 Pall Mall, London, England, at the corner of Waterloo Place....
was London's premier club for eminent men of letters and science. Its membership was made up of the greatest British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
writers in the nineteenth century. Wilde's name is a conspicuous absence.
Printed privately in 1923 in a limited edition of 300 copies on Japan Vellum, A Peep into the Past was published in a glassine wrapper with a card slipcase and box. The first four pages are a facsimile of Beerbohm's original handwritten manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
.