The delicious wildness of Oscar Wilde's work delighted some of his contemporaries and disgusted others. He was a writer and more especially, a man, who ignited passions both favorable and unfavorable.

This special edition of Oscar Wilde's "The Ballad of Reading Gaol" includes several original features. Three textually different versions of "The Ballad" are presented. One of these is the original shorter version of the poem, originally edited by Wilde's good friend, Robbie Ross, for vocal recitation. Wilde's early poem "Humanitad" is also included as it has striking stylistic parallels with "The Ballad" and reveals the continuity of Wilde's work over the duration of his career.

"The Ballad of Reading Gaol" is Oscar Wilde's most famous poem about his time in prison, after having been sentenced to two years hard labor for sodomy and gross indecency.