To celebrate the anniversary of Oscar Wilde's death, we have selected him as our Underground Icon of the Month. Wilde's tomb is marked by a dramatic statue of a winged man by Jacob Epstein. The back of the monument has a brief biography of Wilde's life in English with the inscription:
When I visited his grave site in 1991, the statue had been castrated by a vandal, an action which seems to reflect the tragedy of Wilde's wrongful imprisonment after a brilliant writing career. The tomb is covered in lipstick kisses from admirers.
Icon trivia question: Wilde had been involved in an intimate relationship with Lord Alfred Douglas, and as a result, was persecuted by his father, the powerful Marquess of Queensbury. Wilde was later imprisoned for charges of "indecency" and "sodomy." What famous London hotel was Wilde arrested in for these "crimes?"
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