A major UK library has honoured late author the literary icon by issuing anew a reader's card in his honor, over a century after his initial was revoked following his conviction for homosexual acts.
The celebrated author and dramatist was barred from the institution's study area in 1895 over his prosecution for engaging in same-sex affairs, which was a criminal offence at the time.
The new card, which will be received by his descendant, author Merlin Holland, on Thursday, is intended to "acknowledge the injustices and immense suffering" Wilde faced, the library said.
The grandson said the new card is a "beautiful act of reconciliation" and "I'm sure his spirit will be touched and delighted".
The decision to withdraw the author's access for the reading room - then the London institution - was documented without explanation in the trustees' minutes for June 15, 1895.
The writer had been in prison for three weeks at the time after being handed a two-year prison sentence with hard labour.
The author was convicted after he lost a libel trial against the Marquess of Queensberry, who had accused him of being homosexual after learning that his offspring, Bosie, was Wilde's lover.
Institutional rules at the time said any person convicted of a offence should have their pass cancelled.
'Letter from prison meant so much'
The national library contains original manuscripts of some of the author's most well-known plays including "The Importance of Being Earnest", "An Ideal Husband", "A Woman of No Importance" and Lady Windermere's Fan.
The archive also includes De Profundis, the letter he penned to Bosie from the prison.
Merlin Holland, the sole surviving relative of Wilde, will collect the reissued pass at a ceremony at the location on what would have been his ancestor's 171st birthday.
Speaking on the occasion, the grandson said he felt both "honored" of his relative and somewhat weighted by the duty of handling his heritage.
"People will so often write in to me and say, 'I cannot tell you how much your grandfather's De Profundis meant to me'" he explained.
"The letter ends on an optimistic tone... expressing his intent to resume his work after release".
"Readers have expressed, 'During deep personal despair, I turned to De Profundis, and your relative's jail writings provided immense comfort'".
The library chair, chair of the British Library, described the author as "a foremost 19th-century literary personality".
She said that by reinstating his library card, "we hope to not only honour Wilde's memory but also acknowledge the injustices and immense suffering he faced as a result of his conviction".
She continued that they were "pleased" to welcome his descendant - who is the author of a new book, After Oscar: The Legacy of a Scandal - to accept the library card on his behalf.
