The British Library is reinstating Oscar Wilde's reader pass, canceled in 1895 following his conviction for gross indecency. This symbolic act will occur 130 years later, with a contemporary pass being presented to his grandson, Merlin Holland, in an event featuring Rupert Everett. Holland, an expert on Wilde, commented on how Wilde would likely say this reinstatement was overdue. The decision to revoke the pass remarked upon Wilde's disgrace after his imprisonment, which ultimately led to his tragic end in poverty.
Holland said: Oscar had been in Pentonville prison for three weeks when his pass to the British Museum Reading Room was cancelled, so he wouldn't have known about it.
Holland remarked, 'He'd probably say about time too' when asked how his grandfather might react to the pass being reinstated.
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