Better known in 1882 as a cultural icon than a serious writer, Oscar Wilde was brought to North America for a major lecture tour on Aestheticism and the decorative arts. With characteristic aplomb, he adopted the role as the ambassador of Aestheticism, and he tried out a number of phrases, ideas, and strategies that ultimately made him famous as a novelist and playwright. This exceptional volume cites all ninety-one of Wilde's interviews and contains transcripts of forty-eight of them, and it also includes his lecture on his travels in America.

Matthew Hofer is an associate professor of English at the University of New Mexico. Gary Scharnhorst is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of English at the University of New Mexico and the author of Bret Harte: Opening the American Literary West and other works.