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![John Boyne: The Weight of Angels [2026]](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201807%202764%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E)
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.
FAQs
"What is The Weight of Angels about?
John Boyne imagines a different life for Oscar Wilde. In this version, Wilde ignores the Marquess of Queensberry’s insult instead of suing him, and lives another 50 years full of writing, success, love and loss. It’s a novel about regret and atonement, told mostly through dialogue.
Is The Weight of Angels based on a true story?
Partly. Oscar Wilde and the Marquess of Queensberry were real, and in real life Wilde’s libel case led to his imprisonment and early death. Boyne’s novel is alternate history: it asks what might have happened if Wilde had never gone to court.
Where can I buy The Weight of Angels in Ireland?
You can buy it online at Chapters Bookstore or in our shop on Parnell Street, Dublin. Orders over €9.99 get free delivery anywhere in Ireland."
- Publisher Name:Transworld Publishers Ltd
- Product Format:Trade paperback
- ISBN: 9781529943856
- Author:Boyne, John
- Publication Date:2026-09-24
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