Generally, we correlate Victorianism with Puritanism and the trials of Oscar Wilde, even though it had a flourishing subculture like the Decadent movement, molly houses, and the effete dandies. These social phenomena were reactions to a time when sexual and social purity and repression were advocated and rigid conservatism left little leeway for flexibility. This book analyzes and compares selected works by Henry James and Oscar Wilde. While in critical reception, James and Wilde are frequently contrasted, this study draws parallels between some Jamesian texts and the decadent oeuvre of...