AMONG the famous early visitors to the Metropole Hotel, now celebrating its 125th anniversary (The Argus, Nov 11), was Oscar Wilde.
In his famous De Profundis letter, written in prison, Wilde mistakenly says that he and Lord Alfred Douglas came over from Worthing in October 1894 and stayed at The Grand hotel, where Wilde nursed “Bosie” when he went down with influenza.
(They then moved to rooms at 20 King’s Road, where Wilde in turn succumbed to the virus, while Bosie failed to reciprocate the care.).
Most biographies, including Richard Ellmann’s of 1987, repeat this error. But it has more recently come to light that they actually stayed at the Metropole.
According to Antony Edmonds in his 2014 book about Wilde’s time in Worthing: “the hotel bill was still unpaid at the time of Wilde’s arrest.”
Graham Chainey, Marine Parade, Brighton
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