Douglas, Alfred Bruce, 1870-1945

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Lord Alfred Bruce Douglas was an English writer, best known for his controversial personality and scandalous relationship with Oscar Wilde. Born into an aristocratic family, Douglas attended Winchester College and Magdalen College, Oxford, where he wrote and participated in sports, but didn't take a degree. His well-chronicled relationship with Oscar Wilde provoked Douglas' father to insult Wilde, prompting a disastrous lawsuit that ended with Wilde imprisoned for two years. Douglas had a strong and rather egocentric temperment, leading to several libel trials; he was a talented author, particularly a gifted poet, and also wrote a memoir and two books about Wilde.

From the description of Alfred Douglas letter to Gifford Ernest, 1931 Feb. 26. (Pennsylvania State University Libraries). WorldCat record id: 123906103

Poet, editor, and intimate of Oscar Wilde.

From the description of Papers, [1888]-1947. (Columbia University In the City of New York). WorldCat record id: 122514982

British poet and translator.

From the description of Letter, 1932 November. (Boston College). WorldCat record id: 48402525

English poet.

From the description of Autograph letters signed (3) : Salisbury & Smedmore, to Leonard Smithers, 1899 Oct. 6-Nov. 20. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270533200

Lord Alfred Douglas was an English poet. He was closely involved with the notorious trial of Oscar Wilde.

From the description of Lord Alfred Douglas collection. [1940-1941]. (University of Victoria Libraries). WorldCat record id: 667848445

English poet and translator.

From the description of ALsS and sonnets : 1893 Sept. 30-Nov. 22. (Rosenbach Museum & Library). WorldCat record id: 122380665

Author.

From the description of Alfred Bruce papers, Lord Douglas, 1934-1940. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 71009615

Biography

Lord Alfred Bruce Douglas was born October 22, 1870 near Worcester, England; his father was the ninth marquess of Queensberry. His mother nicknamed him Bosie at a young age, and Douglas is often referred to by this name. He attended private schools, Winchester College, and eventually ended at Magdalen College in Oxford. He did not receive a degree from Magdalen, but wrote for various college publications.

Douglas was introduced to Oscar Wilde in 1891, and they became involved in a long relationship. In 1895, Douglas encouraged Wilde to sue the marquess of Queensberry for libel. However, Wilde was instead prosecuted and forced to spend two years in jail. Douglas attempted to petition the Queen of England to have Wilde released, but was unsuccessful. After Wilde's sentence was completed, he and Douglas traveled together for while. He often supported Wilde financially, as well.

Douglas later eloped with Olive Eleanor Custance and was married to her for 10 years before they separated. He had a son, Raymond, born 1902. Both Olive and Douglas were talented poets and writers. Douglas was involved with a fair number of other lawsuits, included libel against his father-in-law and Robert Ross, and even a lawsuit with Winston Churchill. The latter of the suits landed Douglas in jail for six months. Approximately 20 years later, Douglas died in Lancing on March 20, 1945 and was buried in Sussex.

From the guide to the Lord Alfred Douglas Collection, 1890-1951, (William Andrews Clark Memorial Library)

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Herbert Moore Pim Collection, 1906-1939 Queen's University, Belfast
creatorOf Douglas, Alfred Bruce, Lord, 1870-1945. Autograph letter signed Alfred Douglas to: Dear Sir January 7, 1908. Wellesley College
creatorOf Douglas, Alfred Bruce, Lord, 1870-1945. Lord Alfred Douglas collection. [1940-1941]. University of Victoria Libraries, UVic
creatorOf Douglas, Alfred, 1870-1945. [Portion of his autobiography] : autograph manuscript : [n.p., n.d.]. Pierpont Morgan Library.
referencedIn Wilson, Edmund, 1895-1972. Letter to George Sylvester Viereck. New York, NY. 1950 Oct. 2. University of Iowa Libraries
referencedIn Oscar Wilde and his Literary Circle Collection: Wildeiana, 1858-1998 William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, UCLA
creatorOf Douglas, Alfred Bruce, Lord, 1870-1945. Letter, 1932 November. Boston College. John J. Burns Library
creatorOf Douglas, Alfred Bruce, Lord, 1870-1945. Letter : Hove, Sussex, to Covici, Friede Publishers, New York, 1930 Oct. 21. Bryn Mawr College, Mariam Coffin Canaday Library
referencedIn Housman, A. E. (Alfred Edward), 1859-1936. Letters : Cambridge, England, to Seymour Adelman, Chester, Pa., 1927-1933. Bryn Mawr College, Mariam Coffin Canaday Library
referencedIn Ives, George, 1867-1950. Papers, 1886-1949. Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center
referencedIn Wilde, Oscar, 1854-1900. Oscar Wilde and his literary circle, ca. 1854-1944. University of California, Los Angeles
creatorOf Lord Alfred Douglas Collection, 1890-1951 William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, UCLA
creatorOf Douglas, Alfred Bruce, Lord, 1870-1945. Letter 1896 May 25 25 Boulevard des Capucines, Paris, to Alfred Vallette. The University of Tulsa, McFarlin Library
creatorOf Douglas, Alfred Bruce, Lord, 1870-1945. ALsS and sonnets : 1893 Sept. 30-Nov. 22. Rosenbach Museum & Library
referencedIn Beerbohm, Max, Sir, 1872-1956. Great Britain Papers (literary), 1806-1936. Duke University Libraries, Duke University Library; Perkins Library
referencedIn Sir William Rothenstein correspondence and other papers, 1887-1957. Houghton Library
referencedIn Oscar Wilde and his Literary Circle Collection: Manuscripts and Miscellaneous Materials, 1854-1962 William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, UCLA
referencedIn Meloney, Marie Mattingly, 1883-1943. Papers, 1891-1943. Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries
referencedIn John Lane Company Records TXRC00-A11., 1856-1933, bulk 1894-1930 Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center
referencedIn Oscar Wilde and his Literary Circle Collection: Correspondence, 1819, 1849-1957, 1962 William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, UCLA
referencedIn Robert Baldwin Ross Collection, 1888-1951 University of California, Los Angeles. Library. William Andrews Clark Memorial Library
creatorOf Sherard, Robert Harborough, 1861-1943. Glennyth M. Woods and Francis Watson collections on Robert Harborough Sherard, 1881-1987 University of California, Los Angeles
referencedIn Oscar Wilde and his Literary Circle Collection: Correspondence, 1819, 1849-1957, 1962 William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, UCLA
referencedIn Frank Harris Collection, 1896-1928 University of California, Los Angeles. Library. William Andrews Clark Memorial Library
referencedIn Oscar Wilde Papers TXRC02-A3., 1851-1957, bulk 1877-1957 Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center
creatorOf Harris, Frank, 1855-1931. A second preface to "The life and confessions of Oscar Wilde" / by Frank Harris. University of California, Los Angeles
referencedIn Oscar Wilde collection of papers, 1880]-1932 The New York Public Library. Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature.
referencedIn English literature mss., 1901-1950 Lilly Library (Indiana University, Bloomington)
creatorOf Douglas, Alfred Bruce, Lord, 1870-1945. Letter, 1897 August 11 : Villerville to More Adey. University of California, Los Angeles
creatorOf Douglas, Alfred Bruce, Lord, 1870-1945. Letter : London, to Wilfrid Meynell, 1908 July 21. Bryn Mawr College, Mariam Coffin Canaday Library
referencedIn Collections of Sir Hugh Walpole, 19th-20th century Bodleian Library, Oxford
referencedIn Wilfrid Scawen Blunt papers, 1882-1937. Houghton Library
creatorOf Douglas, Alfred Bruce, Lord, 1870-1945. Prologue to Satires [manuscript]; Shakespeare's tercentenary : a masque, [1916?] / by Alfred Bruce Douglas. Folger Shakespeare Library
creatorOf John Lane Company. Records of the John Lane Company, 1856-1933 (bulk, 1894-1930). Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center
creatorOf Douglas, Alfred Bruce, Lord, 1870-1945. Alfred Bruce papers, Lord Douglas, 1934-1940. Library of Congress
creatorOf Pearson, Hesketh, 1887-1964,. Letters : concerning Oscar Wilde, [1882]-1945 (bulk 1943-1945). Rosenbach Museum & Library
referencedIn Lord Alfred Douglas Collection, 1890-1951 William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, UCLA
creatorOf Harrison, G. B. (George Bagshawe), 1894-1991. Correspondence, with writers and scholars, 1913-1939. University of Michigan
referencedIn Firbank, Ronald, 1886-1926. Ronald Firbank papers, 1896-1976. Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries
creatorOf Douglas, Alfred Bruce, Lord, 1870-1945. Alfred Douglas letter to Gifford Ernest, 1931 Feb. 26. Pennsylvania State University Libraries
referencedIn Bell, T. H. (Thomas H.), 1867-1942. Papers of Thomas Hastie Bell, 1922-1942. Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens
referencedIn Frederick R. Koch collection, 1640-1983 Yale University Library
referencedIn Elmer Gertz Papers, 1789-1997, (bulk 1926-1988) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
creatorOf Douglas, Alfred Bruce, Lord, 1875-1945. Papers, [1888]-1947. Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries
referencedIn Frederick R. Koch collection, 1640-1983 Yale University Library
creatorOf Douglas, Alfred Bruce, Lord, 1870-1945. Autograph letters signed (3) : Salisbury & Smedmore, to Leonard Smithers, 1899 Oct. 6-Nov. 20. Pierpont Morgan Library.
referencedIn John MacKay Shaw Collection, 1737-2007
referencedIn Autograph File, D, 1586-1975. Houghton Library
referencedIn Mary Hyde Eccles papers, 1853-2005, (bulk) 1939-2003. Houghton Library
referencedIn Oscar Wilde and his Literary Circle Collection: Wildeiana, 1858-1998 William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, UCLA
referencedIn Robert Harborough Sherard Collection, 1881-1987 William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, UCLA
referencedIn Albert Stephens Borgman autograph collection, 1600-1950. Houghton Library
referencedIn Wilde, Oscar, 1854-1900. Collection, 1851-1957 (bulk 1877-1957). Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center
referencedIn Wells, Gabriel, 1862-1946. Correspondence, 1920-1939. New Hampshire Newspaper Project
referencedIn Green-Armytage, R. N. (Robert N.), d. 1966. R.N. Green-Armytage collection. [1907-1954]. University of Victoria Libraries, UVic
creatorOf Harris, Frank, 1855-1931. Frank Harris collection, 1896-1928. University of California, Los Angeles
referencedIn Oscar Wilde and his Literary Circle Collection: Manuscripts and Miscellaneous Materials, 1854-1962 William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, UCLA
referencedIn George Cecil Ives Papers TXRC93-A5., 1874-1949 Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center
referencedIn Rich, Adrienne Cecile. Papers, 1927-1999 (inclusive). Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
creatorOf Douglas, Alfred Bruce, Lord, 1870-1945. Letter, 1933 Oct. 11, Hove [Eng.] to R.B. [i.e. G.B.] Harrison, Bishop's Stortford [Eng.]. University of Michigan
creatorOf Douglas, Alfred Bruce, Lord, 1870-1945. Letter to Boris Brasol. [Hove, Sussex, Eng.]. 1938 Sep. 26. University of Iowa Libraries
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Adey, More, person
correspondedWith Adey, More, ca. 1859-1942 person
associatedWith Adrian Earle. person
associatedWith Alfred Rose person
correspondedWith Allcorn, Stanley person
associatedWith Alphonse James Albert Symons person
associatedWith Beerbohm, Max, Sir, 1872-1956. person
associatedWith Bell, T. H. (Thomas H.), 1867-1942. person
correspondedWith Blake, Kathleen. person
correspondedWith Blunt, Wilfrid Scawen, 1840-1922 person
associatedWith Borgman, Albert Stephens, 1890-1954 person
associatedWith Brasol, Boris, b. 1885, person
associatedWith Carter Bell person
correspondedWith Caton, Reginald Ashley, 1897-1971 person
associatedWith Christopher Jarchow person
associatedWith Christopher Millard. person
correspondedWith Clark, William Andrews, Jr., 1877-1934 person
associatedWith Covici, Friede (Firm) corporateBody
associatedWith Created by John MacKay Shaw person
correspondedWith Croft-Cooke, Rupert, 1903- person
associatedWith Crosland, T. W. H. (Thomas William Hodgson), 1865-1924. person
correspondedWith Curtis Brown Ltd. corporateBody
associatedWith Douglas, Alfred Bruce, Lord, 1870-1945 person
associatedWith Eccles, Mary Hyde. person
associatedWith Ermengarda Greville-Nugent person
associatedWith Ernest, Gifford, person
associatedWith Firbank, Ronald, 1886-1926. person
associatedWith Frank Harris. person
associatedWith Frank Harris, 1856-1931 person
associatedWith Frederick E. Peters, d. 1951 person
correspondedWith Genniados, A. person
associatedWith George Bernard Shaw. person
associatedWith George Charles Beresford. person
associatedWith George Sylvester Viereck, 1884-1962 person
correspondedWith Gertz, Elmer, 1906-2000. person
associatedWith Grant Richards. person
associatedWith Green-Armytage, R. N. (Robert N.), d. 1966. person
associatedWith Harris, Frank person
associatedWith Harris, Frank, 1855-1931. person
associatedWith Harrison, G. B. (George Bagshawe), 1894-1991. person
associatedWith Henry Louis Mencken person
associatedWith Herbert Moore Pim, 1883- person
associatedWith Housman, A. E. (Alfred Edward), 1859-1936. person
associatedWith Ives, George Cecil, 1867-1950 person
associatedWith John Lane Company corporateBody
associatedWith Koch, Frederick R. (Frederick Robinson), person
associatedWith Lane, John, 1854-1925, person
associatedWith Londonderry, Edith Helen Vane-Tempest-Stewart, Marchioness of, 1879-1959. person
associatedWith Lord Alfred Bruce Douglas, 1870-1945 person
associatedWith Lucie Delarue-Mardrus. person
associatedWith Martin Secker, 1882-1978 person
associatedWith Maurice Schwabe ca. 1875-1921 person
associatedWith Melhado, Frederick, person
associatedWith Meloney, Marie Mattingly, 1883-1943. person
associatedWith Merlin Holland. person
associatedWith Meyerfeld, Max, 1875- person
associatedWith Meyerstein, Edward Harry William, 1889-1952 person
associatedWith Meynell, Wilfrid, 1852-1948. person
associatedWith Michael De La Bedoyere person
associatedWith More Adey. person
correspondedWith Newton, A. person
associatedWith Olive Eleanor (Custance) Douglas, Lady person
associatedWith Oscar Wilde person
associatedWith Oscar Wilde, 1854-1900 person
associatedWith Patmore, Coventry, 1823-1896. person
associatedWith Pearson, Hesketh, 1887-1964, person
associatedWith Percy Sholto Douglas, 9th Marquis of Queensberry. person
associatedWith R. A. Greene-Armytage person
associatedWith Ray, Gordon Norton, 1915- person
associatedWith Reginald Turner person
associatedWith Rich, Adrienne Cecile. person
associatedWith Robert Baldwin Ross person
associatedWith Robert Harborough Sherard, 1861-1943 person
associatedWith Ross, Robert Baldwin 1869-1918 person
correspondedWith Rothenstein, William, Sir, 1872-1945 person
associatedWith Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 person
correspondedWith Shaw, George Bernard, 1856-1950 person
associatedWith Shelley, Percy Bysshe, 1792-1822. person
associatedWith Sherard, Robert Harborough, 1861-1943 person
associatedWith Sir Coleridge Kennard, 1885- person
associatedWith Sir Desmond MacCarthy. person
associatedWith Sir Edmund Clarke person
associatedWith Sir Edward Clarke person
associatedWith Sir John Collings Squire person
associatedWith Smithers, Leonard C. (Leonard Charles), 1861-1907, person
associatedWith St. John Greer Ervine person
associatedWith Symons, A. J. A. (Alphonse James Albert), 1900-1941 person
associatedWith Thomas William Hodgson Crosland person
associatedWith Thompson, Francis, 1859-1907. person
associatedWith Vallette, Alfred, 1858-1935. person
associatedWith Vyvyan Beresford Holland. person
associatedWith Wells, Gabriel, 1862-1946. person
associatedWith Wilde, Oscar, 1854-1900 person
associatedWith William Andrews Clark Memorial Library corporateBody
associatedWith Wilson, Edmund, 1895-1972. person
associatedWith W. Townley Searle. person
Place Name Admin Code Country
England
Subject
Authors, English
Catholic converts
English poetry
English poetry
Poets, English
Imitation in literature
Male authors, English
Occupation
Translator
Activity

Person

Birth 1870-10-22

Death 1945-03-20

Britons

English

Information

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