Introduction

 

Oscar Wilde in Paradise….
No! Never!

Oscar in Hell
- No! No! That would be an injustice.

Oscar in Purgatory -
Ah! Now, that’s more like it.

Imagine if you will, a pink tinted French division of Purgatory where all of the souls who have fallen short of Paradise and escaped the torment of Hell are doomed to the Parisian Purgatory Reservation of Père Lachaise, where they can forever contemplate the errors of their earthly ways.

This is the setting of this satirical tale of obsession, unrequited love, passion, devotion, laughter, regret, friendship and that liberator of the soul - true love.

If you think Oscar Wilde was a genius and the greatest thing ever, or alternatively, that he was a spoilt and manipulative toe rag of a man with a deviant streak to his genius, then this tale will suit you fine, either way.

Read how Oscar develops a debilitating obsession about Frances most notorious writer, George Sand after being mercilessly teased by Alfred de Musset, the enfant terrible of the French literati, about his wild and destructive love affair with her.

If you’re into Chopin and believe he composed and played music that was divine and worthy of Paradise itself then experience his genius in the confines of his Parisian Purgatory as he grapples with the effects of Oscar’s obsession.

Can anything be done to help our obsessive genius? Do the other souls of Père Lachaise, such as Balzac, Proust, Seurat, Delacroix, Yves Montand and Simone Signoret have the answer? Or does the Little Sparrow, Édith Piaf; with her exquisite voice have the power to mesmerize him, as she does so often with the other souls of Père Lachaise and snap him out of his obsession.

Maybe his obsession isn’t the only affliction he’s suffering from. Perhaps there’s something more dark and foreboding that is tormenting his soul. Read the revelations of Colette, Isadora Duncan, Jim Morrison, Nadar, Marie d’Agoult and Seurat and decide for yourself.

What has the Moulin Rouge dancer, Jane Avril to do with anything? Is she his guardian angel? Well, there’s something about Jane that Oscar can’t resist.

Can the divine Sarah Bernhardt rekindle her friendship with Oscar that was fractured in their earthy existence and ease him out of his obsession.

Is Marcel Proust Oscars intellectual soul mate?

Has Jim Morrison got his finger on the pulse of Oscar Wilde?

What’s the Divine Council to do with things, or the Conclave of Saints?

Is Oscar in need of the Divine Psychiatrist?

Is The Michelangelo Syndrome of any relevance?

Who is the Lady in Blue? Why has she got her eye on Oscar Wilde?

Can the soul of Oscar Wilde be saved?

Does it need saving.

Is it worth saving?

Find out by reading this novel tale of the soul.

If you like an off the wall tale about the peculiarities and tribulations of the Human Condition, then pick up this novel by Jim Yates and let your mind wonder through the Parisian maze that is the cemetery of Père Lachaise and perhaps discover, not just the secret of Père Lachaise, but life itself.