Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
47th out of 220 books
—
274 voters
Oscar Wilde and the Candlelight Murders (The Oscar Wilde Murder Mysteries #1)
One of Britain's premier royal biographers pens the first in a series of fiendishly clever and stylish historical murder mysteries
Lovers of historical mystery will relish this chilling Victorian tale based on real events and cloaked in authenticity. Best of all, it casts British literature's most fascinating and controversial figure as the lead sleuth.
A young artist's mode
...morePaperback, 355 pages
Published
2008
by John Murray
(first published 2007)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
2,117)
I approached this historical mystery as I normally do, for the characters and the historical elements, with the mystery being well down my list. I very much enjoyed the historical fiction and character driven aspects of this book, which is about 2/3 of the book. When it gets to where the main focus is on the mystery I wasn't in the same thrall I was in before. That is what has caused my dilemma in rating this and in justifying my feelings towards this book.
This book is at its best in letting the...more
This book is at its best in letting the...more
Oscar Wilde and the Candlelight Murders is skilfully written and much in the style of Arthur Conan Doyle's works. The story takes place in 1889-1890, revolving around the murder of a young friend of Oscar Wilde.
As a rule and from past bad experiences, I try to avoid reading books with real-life personalities as characters. I don't know why I took exception at this book (though it might have something to do with the absolutely disgusting and charming front cover...)
I said previously that it was...more
As a rule and from past bad experiences, I try to avoid reading books with real-life personalities as characters. I don't know why I took exception at this book (though it might have something to do with the absolutely disgusting and charming front cover...)
I said previously that it was...more
From ISawLightningFall.com
TWO-AND-A-HALF STARS
What do you want to be when you grow up? When we’re young, it’s the question with a hundred answers. A fireman one day, a nurse the next, an astronaut after that. But time and talent and circumstance eventually push a sole option to the forefront, the rest receding to become favorite hobbies or fond memories. That this singular option consumes the majority of our time and energy should comes as no surprise, for it’s difficult to do one thing well, le...more
TWO-AND-A-HALF STARS
What do you want to be when you grow up? When we’re young, it’s the question with a hundred answers. A fireman one day, a nurse the next, an astronaut after that. But time and talent and circumstance eventually push a sole option to the forefront, the rest receding to become favorite hobbies or fond memories. That this singular option consumes the majority of our time and energy should comes as no surprise, for it’s difficult to do one thing well, le...more
UPDATE: Apparently, I need the magic of Arthur Conan Doyle as narrator to make this series work for me. Sorry, Mr. Brandreth!
I SWEAR I didn't mean to start reading this today. I was working on a book display at the Library when I picked up this volume and realized it was the first in the series. I started reading it over lunch almost accidentally, and, well ... now I'm stuck! ;-)
I SWEAR I didn't mean to start reading this today. I was working on a book display at the Library when I picked up this volume and realized it was the first in the series. I started reading it over lunch almost accidentally, and, well ... now I'm stuck! ;-)
на этот роман я наткнулся совершенно случайно в новооткрытом книжном месте, купился не столько на сюжет, сколько на достаточно привлекательную как на книжицу цену – и не прогадал. прочитал роман в три захода, после чего остался совершенно доволен прочитанным.
аннотация милостиво уведомляет, что главным персонажем является оскар уайльд, вместе со своим знакомым артуром конан дойлом расследует кровавые преступления в лондоне. к этому присовокуплено несколько введенных в кавычки цитат как бы из изд...more
аннотация милостиво уведомляет, что главным персонажем является оскар уайльд, вместе со своим знакомым артуром конан дойлом расследует кровавые преступления в лондоне. к этому присовокуплено несколько введенных в кавычки цитат как бы из изд...more
What a strange book. It's a fast read (took me one day, and I was doing other things too), it has Wilde, it has Conan Doyle, it has Victorian London, Scotland Yard, male prostitutes and other potentially fascinating elements, and still I didn't like it.
The most annoying part of it was the portrait of Wilde: sanitized, hagiographic,
boring, boring, boring. He loves his wife Constance, women and children in general, he loves disabled people, poor people, stupid people, and everyone loves him back!...more
The most annoying part of it was the portrait of Wilde: sanitized, hagiographic,
boring, boring, boring. He loves his wife Constance, women and children in general, he loves disabled people, poor people, stupid people, and everyone loves him back!...more
I love Oscar Wilde.
The way the author portrays Oscar is exactly the way I've always imagined him to be. Some complaints I've seen are that Oscar's character is too shallow and arrogant, but anyone who knows anything about Oscar Wilde knows that he WAS shallow and arrogant. Not to say that he was a bad person, just that that was the type of man he was. And he wasn't shy about letting people know that.
The author/characters mentioned were all represented pretty well, in my opinion. I don't know Ar...more
The way the author portrays Oscar is exactly the way I've always imagined him to be. Some complaints I've seen are that Oscar's character is too shallow and arrogant, but anyone who knows anything about Oscar Wilde knows that he WAS shallow and arrogant. Not to say that he was a bad person, just that that was the type of man he was. And he wasn't shy about letting people know that.
The author/characters mentioned were all represented pretty well, in my opinion. I don't know Ar...more
I heard this book was a franchise, so assumed it must be good. I do love Oscar Wilde, ADORE Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and it was an interesting premise, but the character of Oscar was so annoying, you honestly were HOPING he'd get beaten up, or thrown down the stairs, or stuffed in a wooden box, just to get that sarcastic, arrogance arse of his in gear and stop being so flowery and gossipy, and superficial, like the matron of a hen house. The narrator did nothing for me, and came off as an idiotic...more
Oscar Wilde is my favorite author, and I also love the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. As such, you can imagine my delight when I found that someone had actually written a book (series nonetheless!) featuring the pair as well as a large cast of other names of the late 1800s (I didn't know who Robert Sherard was before this book sad to say).
The main thing I was worried about even as my curiosity was piqued was how Brandreth would render Oscar. It was a wise choice to narrate from Sherard's point...more
The main thing I was worried about even as my curiosity was piqued was how Brandreth would render Oscar. It was a wise choice to narrate from Sherard's point...more
This book constantly compares Oscar Wilde and his nearly unbearable sidekick and – to my dismay – narrator of the story Robert Sherard to Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. Well, maybe “constantly” is too strong a word, especially since Arthur Conan Doyle – the one in this book, (hopefully) not the one in real life – actually wanted to base MYCROFT Holmes on Oscar Wilde, but the similarities, or want-to-be-similarities, in writing style and setting and such can’t be ignored.
Which pissed me off in...more
Which pissed me off in...more
"Oscar Wilde che si traveste da Sherlock Holmes: perchè no?"
Questa frase, pronunciata dal protagonista, riassume il "succo" del libro. Il protagonista è Oscar Wilde, che si trova ad indagare sulla morte del sedicenne Billy Wood. E' stato lui, infatti, a trovare il corpo dello sfortunato ragazzo, con la gola tagliata: ma la polizia non gli crede, perchè quando denuncia il fatto, il giorno dopo, del cadavere non c'è più traccia.
Oscar non vuole lasciare perdere, e inizia le sue indagini personali a...more
Questa frase, pronunciata dal protagonista, riassume il "succo" del libro. Il protagonista è Oscar Wilde, che si trova ad indagare sulla morte del sedicenne Billy Wood. E' stato lui, infatti, a trovare il corpo dello sfortunato ragazzo, con la gola tagliata: ma la polizia non gli crede, perchè quando denuncia il fatto, il giorno dopo, del cadavere non c'è più traccia.
Oscar non vuole lasciare perdere, e inizia le sue indagini personali a...more
I have read shamefully little of Oscar Wilde but every time I read a quote of his I always smile and promise myself to pick up The Picture of Dorian Gray and Three Stories or The Importance of Being Earnest very soon. Therefore I was of course intrigued when my friend handed me this book. Oscar Wilde as a detective? It turns out it works very well, it's a mystery somewhat in the style of Arthur Conan Doyle (who also shows up as a character in the book) but a bit less straightforward than the cas...more
Knowing of Gyles Brandreth from the television and radio, I rather thought this book might be a little “sophisticated” for me. He’s a vastly intelligent man and, like Stephen Fry, he often loses me with his mind but I needn’t have worried, because The Candlelight Murders(as it's known in the UK) is an enjoyable – almost frothy – murder mystery of the old school and thoroughly enjoyable.
It’s obvious from the word go that Brandreth is a big fan of Oscar Wilde and he sets the scene well. The books...more
It’s obvious from the word go that Brandreth is a big fan of Oscar Wilde and he sets the scene well. The books...more
This book is the first in the series and of course, I read it second. I was not disappointed in the least. The story is a murder mystery but the way Mr. Brandreth presents the book gives the reader insights into human behavior and it's strengths and weaknesses.
This is not a cozy murder and in this case touches some deeply religiously held beliefs. Some readers will be shocked and appalled by it's subject matter, as for myself, I'm glad I completed the book as I feel a greater understanding of my...more
This is not a cozy murder and in this case touches some deeply religiously held beliefs. Some readers will be shocked and appalled by it's subject matter, as for myself, I'm glad I completed the book as I feel a greater understanding of my...more
Excellent. This is how you should write a mystery using famous writers of the past. (Take note, Paul Malmont.)
I'll say up front that taken strictly as a mystery, some readers may be annoyed by the leisurely pace of the investigation. (5 months pass between the murder and the revelation of the killer.) And while Robert Sherard plays Watson to Wilde's Holmes, Wilde often goes off and does things about which he is not entirely forthcoming with Sherard. Brandreth gives a reason in the notes as to w...more
I'll say up front that taken strictly as a mystery, some readers may be annoyed by the leisurely pace of the investigation. (5 months pass between the murder and the revelation of the killer.) And while Robert Sherard plays Watson to Wilde's Holmes, Wilde often goes off and does things about which he is not entirely forthcoming with Sherard. Brandreth gives a reason in the notes as to w...more
I absolutely loved this book. It was witty and clever and held me to its pages, so, in other words it was a quick read. It had everything I like to read especially the many witticisms by Oscar Wilde. I came away loving him and wishing that his life had been happier and more settled.
The story revolves around Oscar and his very good friend Robert Shepard as they take on a kind of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson personna. It concerns the murder of a young man Billy Wood, who supposedly was the inspir...more
The story revolves around Oscar and his very good friend Robert Shepard as they take on a kind of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson personna. It concerns the murder of a young man Billy Wood, who supposedly was the inspir...more
3.5 stars
I will wait for Jeannette, Marialyce and Dawn before post my review. However, since I always avoid spoilers in my reviews, see my review as followed.
Even if I am not a big fan of mysteries featuring real literary authors, I liked this one.
In my opinion, the author managed quite well to balance between quoting famous artists & writers with a mystery case as background.
Among the citations, we can mention some of these well known names, such as: Arthur Conan Doyle, (Sherlock Holmes, Wa...more
I will wait for Jeannette, Marialyce and Dawn before post my review. However, since I always avoid spoilers in my reviews, see my review as followed.
Even if I am not a big fan of mysteries featuring real literary authors, I liked this one.
In my opinion, the author managed quite well to balance between quoting famous artists & writers with a mystery case as background.
Among the citations, we can mention some of these well known names, such as: Arthur Conan Doyle, (Sherlock Holmes, Wa...more
It's difficult to put my finger on exactly what it was about this book that I didn't like. I think a lot of it is the narrator, Wilde's friend Robert Sherard. The narration just felt off. Half the time the narrator is being oblivious of any hints of homosexuality, regardless of how many rent boys he's surrounded with and the other half he's talking about Wilde's eventual trial and disgrace. Make up your mind! Really, there's a sense of uncomfortableness handling the issues of sexuality. Maybe it...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
wion cThis book is a fun murder-mystery featuring one of my favorite writers, Oscar Wilde.
Oscar Wilde is running late for a meeting with someone in the afternoon when he happens upon the body of Billy Wood - a talented, beautiful boy of his acquaintance - lying on the floor, throat slit, obviously dead.
The rattled Wilde confides in his friends Robert Sherard and Arthur Conan Doyle, and thereby begins a fun, dangerous investigation primarily occurring in the city of London.
The story is related by...more
Oscar Wilde is running late for a meeting with someone in the afternoon when he happens upon the body of Billy Wood - a talented, beautiful boy of his acquaintance - lying on the floor, throat slit, obviously dead.
The rattled Wilde confides in his friends Robert Sherard and Arthur Conan Doyle, and thereby begins a fun, dangerous investigation primarily occurring in the city of London.
The story is related by...more
Wow! As promised, I did not see the ending coming until it was right there. Red Herrings, Gut Feelings, a Watson-esque narrator-- Gyles Brandreth used detective story standbys very effectively. And who didn't want to see Oscar Wilde, one of the most colorful individuals we study in school, solve a murder? (Oh, and there are constant references to Sherlock Holmes and his methods.)
Brief synopsis: Oscar Wilde finds the nude body of a young man murdered in a room filled with candles and incense. Whe...more
Brief synopsis: Oscar Wilde finds the nude body of a young man murdered in a room filled with candles and incense. Whe...more
Oscar Wilde arrives at a (potentially illicit) appointment to discover his young friend Billy Wood dead with his throat slashed. With the help of his friend Robert Sherard (Watson to Oscar's Holmes), and his friend Arthur Conan Doyle, Oscar slips around London's drawing rooms and dark alleys to solve the mystery.
This book was a delightful read! The mystery itself was not that compelling, as it dragged on for months. It was predictable enough that I had it narrowed down to two suspects before the...more
This book was a delightful read! The mystery itself was not that compelling, as it dragged on for months. It was predictable enough that I had it narrowed down to two suspects before the...more
Turns out Oscar Wilde can give Sherlock Holmes a run for his eccentric, observational money. When he stumbles across the dead body of a young male prostitute, Oscar returns to the scene of the crime with his devoted friend and biographer, Robert Sherard, and Oscar's new friend, Arthur Conan Doyle. Of course, by the time they return, the body has disappeared and the room has been cleared of all evidence. Not one to let Scotland Yard's insistence on evidence stop him, Oscar sets out to find the mu...more
This is a 2.5 for me. I am not generally a reader of mysteries, but the prospect of a mystery with Oscar Wilde as the lead detective was a temptation too much for me resist. The novel is narrated by Robert Sherard who was, in real life, a close friend and the first biographer of Wilde. Brandreth presents the novel as written by Sherard--as if he recorded it in his journal.
The book begins with Wilde discovering the murder of Billy Wood; his is title the "murder of no importance." Wilde, however,...more
The book begins with Wilde discovering the murder of Billy Wood; his is title the "murder of no importance." Wilde, however,...more
Liked this book, but have some misgivings, qualms about it. First, I know very little about Oscar Wilde. I don’t know where truth was spoken or where literary license took hold in the book. I do know that Oscar Wilde went to jail for his sexuality. I also think that he was basically penniless when he died and his supposed friends had abandoned him. (At least, I believe this to be true.). These “facts” put a pall over the book for me. While Oscar was very witty and often funny in this book, I jus...more
Jul 23, 2011
Jeremy
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
mystery-detective,
review
As unlikely as the premise for this novel remains - Wilde as a Holmes - Brandreth manages to pull it off with the sheer energy of language and historical knowledge that he brings to bear on both his protagonist, who is superbly, if maybe a little apologetically - rendered, and his landscapes - the London and Paris of the late 19th century. The plot was suitably Holmes-ian, but perhaps the exercises in 'elementary' deduction were somtimes over the top. Although, Wilde was a somewhat over-the-top...more
Read this for a book group.
Follows a crime-solving Oscar Wilde who is basically a Sherlock Holmes with a poet for a Watson and Arthur Conan Doyle hanging around IN the book instead of writing it.
As a mystery it let me down because I was pretty sure who was going to be pegged before they got pegged, whereas when I'm reading Agathe Christie I'm usually TOTALLY SHOCKED by the final accusation.
Still, it was pretty interesting and I enjoyed the read, so it's likely I'll pick up the second in the seri...more
Follows a crime-solving Oscar Wilde who is basically a Sherlock Holmes with a poet for a Watson and Arthur Conan Doyle hanging around IN the book instead of writing it.
As a mystery it let me down because I was pretty sure who was going to be pegged before they got pegged, whereas when I'm reading Agathe Christie I'm usually TOTALLY SHOCKED by the final accusation.
Still, it was pretty interesting and I enjoyed the read, so it's likely I'll pick up the second in the seri...more
This is an interesting, though not completely unpredictable, mystery. Oscar Wilde (yes, that Oscar Wilde) is cast as a detective of sorts, and in this one of a series is determined to solve the murder of one of his young "acquaintances". The setup us much like a Holmes mystery, with Robert Sherard acting as Wilde's 'Watson'. In fact, Arthur Conan Doyle appears as a character in the story, and Wilde is a fan of the Holmes mysteries. The book may have more historical connections than I know; the t...more
I wasn't sure what this book would be like with real people as some of the main characters, but I really enjoyed it. From what I've heard I think he nailed the character of Oscar Wilde very well- I certainly could picture him that way, given some of his writing. I thought the mystery itself was very good and while I personally couldn't figure it out (but I'm usually not good at such things) it made sense when he explained it. There was one little odd part that I thought seemed somewhat unnecessa...more
I really enjoyed this book. This is a cleverly written mystery written from Robert Sherard's point of view, and features his friends Oscar Wilde and Arthur Conan Doyle. Wilde takes his cues from Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and begins to investigate the mysterious death of Billy Woods, a boy whom Wilde knew. Wilde sees the dead boy in a rented room, but when he returns the next day, the body is gone. Wilde is determined to continue with the investigation despite the lack of a body, and enlists Doyle'...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US / UK Editions | 1 | 15 | Nov 09, 2008 04:58pm | |
| US / UK Editions | 1 | 14 | Nov 09, 2008 04:57pm |
Full name: Gyles Daubeney Brandreth.
A former Oxford Scholar, President of the Oxford Union and MP for the City of Chester, Gyles Brandreth’s career has ranged from being a Whip and Lord Commissioner of the Treasury in John Major’s government to starring in his own award-winning musical revue in London’s West End. A prolific broadcaster (in programmes ranging from Just a Minute to Have I Got News f...more
More about Gyles Brandreth...
A former Oxford Scholar, President of the Oxford Union and MP for the City of Chester, Gyles Brandreth’s career has ranged from being a Whip and Lord Commissioner of the Treasury in John Major’s government to starring in his own award-winning musical revue in London’s West End. A prolific broadcaster (in programmes ranging from Just a Minute to Have I Got News f...more
Share This Book
7 trivia questions
More quizzes & trivia...
“I am the prince of procrastination. It is my besetting sin. I never put off till tomorrow what I can possibly do - the day after”
—
13 people liked it
“Those who pay their bills on time are soon forgotten. It is only by not paying one's bills that one can hope to live in the memory of the commercial classes.”
—
1 person liked it
More quotes…
May 12, 2012 07:18pm
Jeannette, thank you so much! Did we match on the same point...more
May 12, 2012 08:37pm