The Weight of Angels

Can one rash decision prove the difference between a life well lived and a life destroyed? When the Marquis of Queensbury left his calling card at the Albemarle Club in February 1895, it bore only his name and five words: 'For Oscar Wilde, posing Somdomite'. The most feted playwright of his day famously sued for libel, which led to his arrest, criminal prosecution and ultimately prison. From then on, his gilded existence spiralled into public disgrace, humiliation and an early death. But what if he had simply ignored the insult? What direction might his life have taken? This is the premise of John Boyne's extraordinary new novel, The Weight of Angels. Rather than dying in penury in Paris at the age of forty-six, what if he had lived to bear witness to the momentous events and cataclysmic changes of the first part of the twentieth century, and even influence some of them? What if the second half of his life were as celebrated, dramatic, tumultuous and exhilarating as the first? In imagining the life that Oscar Wilde never had, John Boyne has written one of the great what-if stories of modern literature, giving the great Anglo-Irish poet and playwright a fresh new voice and the opportunity to take an entirely different path.

Praise for The Weight of Angels:

Exceptionally moving... A granularly imagined, witty, hugely pleasurable read' Neel Mukherjee 'Wise, imaginative, funny, and extremely moving' Tan Twan Eng, Booker longlisted author of The House of Doors 'A richly inventive multi-media novel of literary might-have-beens' John Banville, Booker prize winner of The Sea 'A spectacularly cheeky piece of speculative fiction, gleefully celebrating the possibilities of queer genius' Patrick Gale

Readers are loving THE WEIGHT OF ANGELS:'Remarkable, funny and very touching' Enjoyed this book so much I bought The Picture of Dorian Grey' 'I devoured it in just a few days. Completely transported!' READER REVIEW

Ideal for readers who:

• Are intrigued by alternate-history fiction that imagines another path for Oscar Wilde.
• Explore a literary what-if built around one public insult and its consequences.
• Seek novels that blend biography, invention and twentieth-century upheaval.
• Settle into stories about reputation, disgrace and the fragile hinge of a single choice.

ISBN

9781529943856

Format

Paperback

Publisher

Doubleday, (01 October 2026)

Number of Pages

611

Weight

694 grams

Language

English

Dimensions

254 x 154 x 37 mm

Categories:

Alternative History Historical fiction Modern and Contemporary Biographical