In 1895, the world witnessed its first true celebrity trial, a sensational legal drama that challenged the creaking moral core of the British Empire. Oscar Wilde, the toast of London’s West End and the era’s greatest wit, found himself at the centre of a scandal that laid bare the hypocrisy of Victorian society. Charged with “Gross Indecency,” Wilde’s private desires were brutally dragged into the unforgiving light of the Old Bailey. In History Hit’s new documentary, A Very Victorian Scandal: The Trials of Oscar Wilde, Dr Anthony Delaney investigates the trajectory of the famous playwright. Delaney argues that these three trials were about far more than a single fate: they were a reckoning for Victorian society, where public virtues hid private vices and the press fuelled a voracious demand for scandal. Anthony explores key locations – from the luxurious Savoy Hotel, where Wilde’s recklessness peaked, to the grim walls of Bow Street Police Station – uncovering how Wilde’s persecution fundamentally changed the social landscape and achieved his status as a modern icon of rebellion and resilience. Sign up to watch Art for art’s sake: the rise of a sensation Late Victorian London was an imperial capital of immense outward confidence, and Oscar Wilde forged his reputation in this arena of ambition. The roots of his confidence lay in his brilliance: excelling at Oxford University, he embraced Aestheticism, a cultural movement that championed the supremacy of beauty over morality: “art for art’s sake”. Wilde didn’t just advocate these ideals; he lived them. He meticulously curated his entire existence into an art form, from his signature fur coat and silk cravat to his razor-sharp wit. He summarised his approach with his now-famous quote: “I treated art like the supreme reality, and life as a mere mode of fiction.” By the early 1890s, Wilde’s career was soaring. His only novel, ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’, became a commercial success despite its scandalous themes, and his West End plays like The Importance of Being Earnest satirised polite society, making him a sensation. His celebrity status was cemented in America, where he instantly captured the nation’s attention, famously declaring at customs: “I have nothing to declare but my genius.” Oscar Wilde (left) and ‘Bosie’ (right)Image Credit: History Hit The perfect storm: secrecy, vice, and the press Despite the outward image of Victorian domesticity he maintained with his wife, Constance, and their two children, Oscar Wilde conducted many intimate relationships with other men, viewing these connections through the elevated lens of Greek philosophy. Wilde’s private life began to unravel after he met Lord Alfred Douglas (‘Bosie’), a young, impulsive Oxford undergraduate. Bosie became an obsession, leading Wilde further into London’s underbelly – a world of covert meetings in bustling areas like Piccadilly Circus, where the anonymity of the expanding city allowed same-sex liaisons to flourish. Wilde confessed he deliberately “went to the depths in search for new sensation.” However, the outward face of Victorian respectability masked deep anxieties about sexuality. As Professor Kate Williams explains, while society was outwardly moral, it hid a “really complex, seething world of sexualities, of crime and secret places.” Homosexuality, though common, was only tolerated if it was kept absolutely discreet. Public attitudes were being rapidly shaped by a new, sensationalist popular press, explains historian Bob Nicholson. Literacy rates were soaring, and cheaper newspapers needed to attract millions of new readers. The successful papers knew their audiences didn’t want long reports on Parliament; they wanted “sensation and celebrity.” Dr Anthony Delaney and Professor Kate Williams upstairs at The Savoy Hotel, LondonImage Credit: History Hit The law is weaponised Adding to the perfect storm was a tightening of the law. The Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1885 included the notorious Labouchere Amendment. Before 1885, prosecuting homosexual acts was notoriously difficult, requiring proof of penetration. The Labouchere Amendment changed everything: it criminalised any type of lewd activity, or “Gross Indecency,” between men. The ability to prove “fondling or fumbling” could now lead to imprisonment. This new, sweeping law became a devastating weapon against discretion. Wilde’s celebrity made him the perfect target for a powerful adversary: Bosie’s furious father, the Marquess of Queensberry. In 1895, as Wilde prepared for his greatest success, The Importance of Being Earnest, Queensberry relentlessly pursued him. The Marquess left a notorious calling card for Wilde at the Albemarle Club he frequented, scribbling the accusation: “For Oscar Wilde, posing Somdemite.” Wilde, compelled by honour and driven by Bosie, made a fatal miscalculation: he decided to prosecute Queensberry for libel. One joke too many The libel trial began in April 1895. Wilde, buoyed by his wit and social standing, believed he could win by outmanoeuvring Queensberry’s defence lawyer with his intellect. However, unbeknownst to him, Queensberry’s team had gathered witnesses – young working-class men who claimed they’d had liaisons with the playwright. Although Wilde was the plaintiff, he was cross-examined as if he were the defendant. He was relentlessly interrogated, and attempted to turn the whole proceedings into a joke, giving flippant answers and defiant theatrics. Crucially, when asked if he had kissed a man called Granger, Wilde replied “Oh dear no, he was a peculiarly plain boy”. At this, Queensbury’s team zeroed in. The legal tables turned with devastating speed.  As Wilde’s grandson, historian Merlin Holland, notes “One joke too many and he’s talked himself into prison”. As Anthony succinctly puts it, “From celebrated playwright to condemned man, Wilde walked into the courtroom a plaintiff, and left a fugitive”.  The reckoning: a society on trial Following his disastrous libel trial, Wilde was swiftly arrested for ‘gross indecency’. In the documentary, Anthony details the further trials Wilde faced, which ultimately led to his imprisonment. The case quickly became bigger than Wilde himself, morphing into a public reckoning for the entire era. Professor Kate Williams argues that the trial epitomised all the late Victorian insecurities: “Oscar Wilde is a mirror held up to Victorian society, and what it shows is hypocrisy in all varieties.”  The established aristocratic male identity was already under attack from labour strikes, colonial self-determination, and women demanding the vote. By condemning Wilde, society sought a scapegoat, believing that if they could just demonise and throw him out, the prevailing moral order would be safe.  Anthony goes on to investigate the final trials that sealed Oscar’s fate and explores Wilde’s own profound reflections on his situation. Historian Merlin Holland, who is also Oscar Wilde’s grandson.Image Credit: History Hit The legacy of resilience The trials of Oscar Wilde were the culmination of a perfect storm, explains Anthony, “fuelled by press sensationalism, political anxiety, and buckling Victorian morality.” His conviction fundamentally changed the social landscape, making same-sex attraction a target of intense intolerance and fuelling a hostile environment for decades. Nevertheless, Wilde’s defiance and maintenance of his integrity throughout his ordeal cemented his status as a modern icon. His grandson, Merlin Holland, explains that Wilde’s legacy endures today because he represents four essential qualities that inspire younger generations: Rebellion, Integrity, Individuality, and Sensuality. Join Dr. Anthony Delaney as he investigates exactly what happened in each of the sensational 1895 trials of Oscar Wilde in A Very Victorian Scandal: The Trials of Oscar Wilde. Sign up to watch