Title: The Weight of Angels
Author: John Boyne
Genre: Historical/Speculative Fiction
Publisher: Doubleday
Publication Date: 1st October 2026
Rating: 4.5/5
Cover:
Summary:
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 famous playwright sued for libel, which led to his arrest, criminal prosecution and imprisonment. From then on, his gilded existence spiralled into public disgrace and an early death.
But what if he had simply ignored the insult?
Rather than dying impoverished in Paris at forty-six, what if he had lived to bear witness to the momentous events and cataclysmic changes at the start of the twentieth century, and even influence some of them? What if the second half of his life were as celebrated, dramatic and tumultuous as the first?
Like Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet and Percival Everett’s James, John Boyne explores one of the great what-if stories of modern literature, giving the great Anglo-Irish playwright an opportunity to take an entirely different path.
Review:
John Boyne’s writing is always completely sublime and The Weight of Angels is absolutely no exception to this. It imagines the course Oscar Wilde’s life could have taken had he not sued the Marquis of Queensbury for libel, leading to his incarceration and early death, and had instead lived to a ripe old age, experiencing key events and meeting famous faces of the twentieth century. It’s an enticingly intriguing concept and one which plays out in an inventive, moving, and sometimes amusing manner. Oscar Wilde was, and still is, famous for his unparalleled wit and Boyne truly seems to embody his voice with an exactness which is truly impressive. It genuinely feels as though Wilde has been almost resurrected in these pages, so full of Wilde’s charisma and biting witticisms are they. The story also doesn’t shy away from the less pleasant aspects of Wilde’s character, acknowledging that he was a complex and layered man with both flaws and generosity. There are moments of real pathos and emotional resonance in The Weight of Angels, along with countless pleasingly imaginative encounters between Wilde and other famous faces of the twentieth century: Bram Stoker, Winston Churchill, and Emmeline Pankhurst to name but a few. There are also some rather harrowing parts which are really quite difficult and unpleasant to read but are unfortunately accurate to the time period. The Weight of Angels is a very long book, clocking in at over 600 pages but I have to say, it never drags or feels like a slog to read, so full of sparkling dialogue and epistolary elements like letters, articles and scripts is it. I found it captivating and a triumph of characterisation and elegance. It is a fascinating premise which is expertly carried off and beautifully written from start to finish.
★★★★.5
Thank you so much to Anne Cater of Random Things Blog Tours for inviting me on this tour and organising it. I kindly received a copy of the book from the publisher. My review is entirely my own honest opinion.
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