雷丁監獄之歌

《雷丁監獄之歌》（The Ballad of Reading Gaol）是奧斯卡·王爾德的一首詩歌，寫於1897年5月19日他自英國雷丁監獄釋放，到達法國濱海塞納省大伯爾納瓦爾（Berneval-le-Grand）之後。王爾德在1895年因被控與其他男子犯有嚴重猥褻罪，被判處兩年勞役，被關押在雷丁。

王爾德在1897年中，與羅伯特·羅斯住在大伯爾納瓦爾時寫下了這首詩。這首詩講述了皇家騎兵衛隊30歲^[1]^[2]的騎兵伍爾德里奇在溫莎附近的克萊爾，割斷妻子勞拉·艾倫的喉嚨^[3]，而在1896年7月7日星期二處以絞刑的故事。

完成的詩歌於1898年2月13日由史密瑟斯出版，^[4] 署名 "C.3.3."是王爾德囚室的代號。當時王爾德臭名昭著，他的名字不宜出現在在封面上。直到1899年6月第7次印刷，人們才知道C.3.3實際上就是王爾德。第一版出版了800本，一周內售罄，史密瑟斯宣布將在一周內發行第二版；第二版於2月24日出版，共1000冊，銷量也很好。3月4日印刷了第三版，99本由作者簽名，同一天印刷了第四版，共1200本。第五版1000冊於3月17日出版，第六版於1898年5月21日出版，共1000冊。第七版於1899年6月23日出版，將奧斯卡·王爾德的名字放在方括號中，放在C.3.3的下面。^[5]^[6] 這首詩為他餘生帶來了微薄的收入。

參考

^ And I, May I Say Nothing?. the OSScholars. [22 May 2006]. （原始內容存檔於15 June 2006）.
^ GRO Register of Deaths: SEP qtr 1896 Wooldridge, Charles Thomas aged 30 Reading 2c 210
^ GRO Register of Deaths: JUN qtr 1896 Wooldridge, Laura Ellen aged 23 Windsor 2c 241
^ Mason, Stuart, Bibliography of Oscar Wilde (1914, London) page 408. "Stuart Mason" was the pen-name of rare book dealer Christopher Sclater Millard (1872–1927), who had been Robert Ross's secretary. His Bibliography of the Poems of Oscar Wilde (1907, London) has some details about the Ballad that do not appear in his larger 1914 book. Although the announced date of publication was 13 February, that was a Sunday so the book was not actually available for purchase until the next day, ibid pages 408–409. The first edition consisted of 800 copies on Van Gelder Dutch handmade paper, selling for 2 shillings 6 pence, and 30 copies printed on Japanese vellum for 21 shillings (one guinea).
^ Mason, Stuart (1914; new ed. 1972) Bibliography of Oscar Wilde. Rota pub; Haskell House Pub ISBN 0-8383-1378-7 pgs. 408–423
^ Ellmann, Richard (1988). Oscar Wilde. New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 978-0-394-75984-5 pg 526

[osschol-1] And I, May I Say Nothing?. the OSScholars. [22 May 2006]. （原始內容存檔於15 June 2006）.

[death-2] GRO Register of Deaths: SEP qtr 1896 Wooldridge, Charles Thomas aged 30 Reading 2c 210

[wife-3] GRO Register of Deaths: JUN qtr 1896 Wooldridge, Laura Ellen aged 23 Windsor 2c 241

[4] Mason, Stuart, Bibliography of Oscar Wilde (1914, London) page 408. "Stuart Mason" was the pen-name of rare book dealer Christopher Sclater Millard (1872–1927), who had been Robert Ross's secretary. His Bibliography of the Poems of Oscar Wilde (1907, London) has some details about the Ballad that do not appear in his larger 1914 book. Although the announced date of publication was 13 February, that was a Sunday so the book was not actually available for purchase until the next day, ibid pages 408–409. The first edition consisted of 800 copies on Van Gelder Dutch handmade paper, selling for 2 shillings 6 pence, and 30 copies printed on Japanese vellum for 21 shillings (one guinea).

[5] Mason, Stuart (1914; new ed. 1972) Bibliography of Oscar Wilde. Rota pub; Haskell House Pub ISBN 0-8383-1378-7 pgs. 408–423

[6] Ellmann, Richard (1988). Oscar Wilde. New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 978-0-394-75984-5 pg 526

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