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Wilde West
by
Walter Satterthwait
general information | review summaries | our review | links | about the author
| Title: | Wilde West |
| Author: | Walter Satterthwait |
| Genre: | Novel |
| Written: | 1991 |
| Length: | 374 pages |
| Availability: | Wilde West - US |
| Wilde West - UK | |
| Wilde West - Canada | |
| Le crime d'Oscar Wilde - France | |
| Oscar Wilde im Wilden Westen - Deutschland |
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Our Assessment:
B : doesn't take full advantage of the premise and material, but entertaining enough
See our review for fuller assessment.
| Source | Rating | Date | Reviewer |
|---|---|---|---|
| FAZ | A | 24/9/1996 | Wolfgang Steuhl |
| Sunday Times | . | 9/2/1992 | John Coleman |
| Sunday Times | . | 15/8/1993 | Phil Baker |
| The Times | . | 7/3/1992 | Marcel Berlins |
From the Reviews:
- "(M)an wird mehr und mehr mitgerissen von einer intelligent erdachten, oft komischen und nie langweiligen Geschichte (.....) Erzeugt die erwähnte Kriminalgeschichte alsbald einen grandios durchgehaltenen Spannungsbogen, so sorgt der ständige Kontrast zwischen dem geschniegelten Ästheten einerseits sowie der provinziellen und ungehobelten Umgebung andererseits für die komische Begleitung. Vor allem aber gelingt es dem Autor, Wilde als das erscheinen zu lassen, was der wohl im richtigen Leben am liebsten war: ein Gentleman, der sich selbst durch rüde Zumutungen nicht anfechten ließ. (...) Ob man zu den Freunden anspruchsvoller Literatur im allgemeinen oder zu den Anhängern Oscar Wildes im besonderen gehört; ob man gern einen guten Western, einen spannenden Kriminal- oder einen charmanten Reiseroman liest -- hier kommt man stets auf seine Kosten." - Wolfgang Steuhl, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
- "(T)he reviewer finds it good, ugly fun, save for the odd un-Wildean Americanisms" - John Coleman, Sunday Times
- "The outrageous pun in the title sets the tone for the book (.....) Satterthwait puts together some entertaining set-pieces, such as a meeting between Oscar Wilde and Doc Holliday, and he makes a ridiculous scenario surprisingly readable. Whether this degree of gorily realistic violence to women is really acceptable in such unashamedly lightweight entertainment is another matter." - Phil Baker, Sunday Times
- "It all seems a little silly and unlikely, but Satterthwait tells it entertainingly, with wit and style, and provides a decent mystery as well." - Marcel Berlins, The Times
Please note that these ratings solely represent the complete review's biased interpretation and subjective opinion of the actual reviews and do not claim to accurately reflect or represent the views of the reviewers. Similarly the illustrative quotes chosen here are merely those the complete review subjectively believes represent the tenor and judgment of the review as a whole. We acknowledge (and remind and warn you) that they may, in fact, be entirely unrepresentative of the actual reviews by any other measure.
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The complete review's Review:
Oscar Wilde toured the United States in 1882, giving lectures all across the country (an amazing 141, over eleven months; see), and author Walter Satterthwait uses this as the backdrop for his novel, set almost entirely in March, 1882, when Wilde was touring the American West.
Satterthwait has Wilde travel with an entourage: manager Jack Vail; valet Henry Villiers; Countess Mathilde de la Môle and her escort, Colonel Wolfgang von Hesse; newspaperman David O'Conner, who is apparently covering the tour for the New York Sun; and young poet Wilbur Ruddick.
Federal Marshal Robert J. Grigsby comes to learn that in several of the cities Wilde has been to there have been brutal murders -- red-headed prostitutes killed, their corpses horribly disfigured.
It seems impossible that the connection to Wilde is coïncidental: he, or someone traveling with him -- or following the tour --, must surely be the one behind the horrific crimes, and Grigsby is determined to catch that killer.
Local law enforcement have different ideas, and Grigsby's encroaching on their turf isn't appreciated, but Grigsby is determined, and he follows Wilde's trail and continues to investigate.
Grigsby doesn't shy away from making clear to Wilde and his entourage what he suspects, confronting and interrogating them.
Wilde doesn't let himself be too intimidated, taking the accusations in stride but he is a bit concerned, since the connection to his movements is definitely too close for comfort.
He's not sure that Grigsby is up to it, either, and decides that he should investigate as well:
Do you see it, Henry ? Of course you do. Really, it's obvious, isn't it ? Who better than a poet, with his insight into the mind and the heart, who better than he to penetrate the mask behind which this villain has hidden himself ? We will uncover this man, Henry, and we will do it by a systematic application of the poetic imagination.It's a fun idea to play with, but Satterthwait struggles a bit to make Wilde into much of a detective. Instead, Wilde's main contribution and preöccupation comes to be one Elizabeth McCourt Doe, the fiancée of the wealthy Horace Tabor -- "Richest guy in the state". Wilde is completely taken by Elizabeth, finding her: "quite simply the most beautiful and the most utterly sensuous woman he had ever seen".
Wilde's modern reputation would, of course, suggest that having him be so strongly attracted to a woman is a not very believable fictional turn, and, indeed, even here the impression he generally gives would seem to support that: a correspondent writing to Grigsby, before he meets Wilde, notes: "he looks like a pansy-boy to me, if you want the truth. He acts like one too, very lah di dah", and Grigsby thinks as much when he meets him as well:
He was a nance. Looked like one. Acted like one. All soft and fluttery, talking through his nose with that airy-fairy accent.But the Wilde Satterthwait presents here is decidedly heterosexual -- and very much lusts for Elizabeth. Historically, it's plausible enough: in real life, Wilde would go on to get married two years later, after all, and he did sire two children ..... Satterthwait leaves Wildes's homosexual inclinations at the lowest of simmers -- though they're not entirely avoided in the novel.
Among the theories on offer regarding the murders is that of Colonel von Hesse, who suggests that the murderer may not even be aware of the terrible things he is doing, that he's acting out sub- and unconsciously, and even forgets doing the deed when he's done; the Colonel is familiar with such a case from his own experience. (The forgetting might be plausible, but the cleaning-up seems harder to explain; these murders must have caused an ungodly mess, traces of which would surely have remained when the perpetrator came to their senses.)
Satterthwait has good fun with the character of Wilde, and manages a decent impression. The entourage has some potential too, but Satterthwait can't find ways to make full use of all of them -- notably Henry, revealed to be reading The Red and the Black and obviously intelligent, though never showing it. They have a variety of secrets, too, and not everyone is who they say they are, and there could certainly be more payoff there. Lurking in the background is also another historic figure, Doc Holliday, popping up conveniently repeatedly along the way -- though at least there's some amusing payoff in the final instances there.
Wilde's passion for Elizabeth -- and her willingness to play along -- are amusingly woven into the story, but take some of the focus away from the murder-mystery around them. But Elizabeth does have red hair, so of course eventually things come to quite the head.
A bit disappointing as a mystery/thriller, Wilde West is at least an enjoyable trot along the way (though the violence of the crimes is extreme). Satterthwait does the historical setting -- and the dominant character of Wilde -- well, so making for a fine pass-time read -- though not much more.
- M.A.Orthofer, 10 June 2025
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Reviews: Walter Satterthwait: Other books by Walter Satterthwait under review: Other books of interest under review:
- See Index of Mysteries and Thrillers
- See Index of Contemporary American fiction
- See Index of Real People in Works of Fiction
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American author Walter Satterthwait lived 1946 to 2020.
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© 2025 the complete review
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