Uncovering Oscar Wilde’s Library

When Sarah Pipkin, C’14, was a first year at Penn, she chose a critical writing seminar that concluded with a trip to the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books, and Manuscripts. The instructor showed the class a Medieval genealogical roll—a chronological scroll that illustrates a family tree—and Pipkin, a first-generation college student, was captivated. She inquired about a work-study job at Kislak.

Pipkin says she thought for sure this “really cool thing” she was doing would be temporary. But in reality, it started her on a journey that led her to another country, and eventually to discovering books that solved a 129-year-old mystery.

Pipkin, now the Outreach and Exhibitions Coordinator at University College London (UCL) Special Collections, discovered three thought-to-be-lost books once owned by Oscar Wilde. Researchers have spent more than a century attempting to reassemble Wilde’s extensive library, one the author was forced to auction off in 1895 to pay legal debts incurred from trials on charges of homosexuality, which was illegal in England at the time. 

Wilde owned nearly 2,000 books; only about 40 have been properly identified since. “When we’re thinking about the kinds of books that Wilde was reading and engaging with, some of the influences on his works,” Pipkin says, “reconstructing his library helps us understand his influences better.”

In mid-2024, Pipkin was preparing for an event unrelated to Wilde. As she searched for a book, she stumbled on an English copy of Wilde’s play Salome translated by Lord Alfred Douglas—one of Wilde’s lovers and the son of the Marquess of Queensberry, who had levied the aforementioned charges upon Wilde. Pipkin opened it to see a note that stated it had been bought from the auction of Wilde’s house and belongings.

A note written by someone else wasn’t enough proof that this had actually belonged to Wilde, and there was nothing else—no personalized bookplates, which were common at the time—to connect it to the author. But Pipkin wanted to know more, so she scoured the library for possible clues. 

The catalog referenced a dedication to Wilde, wishing him a Happy New Year, inside a book called The Golden Lotus and Other Legends of Japan by Edward Greey. Pipkin found the same note as in Salome. It had been purchased from an auction of Wilde’s belongings.

She started to pull on more strings.

Based on The Golden Lotus discovery, she searched for any books in the folklore society realm with possible references to Wilde. One catalog entry for The Book of Joseph and Zuleikhá noted an unclear annotation about a “Mr. Wilde.” This copy of an 1882 translation of Persian author Mulláná Abdulrahmán Jámī’s work had not been previously connected to Wilde, but sure enough, inside Pipkin found the same note about the auction.

It took her about three months to connect all three books. “Nine times out of 10, you pick up something, you think, ‘This is really cool.’ And then you never find the answer to the question. I’ve got book mysteries I’ve been burning for a good couple of years that I may never, ever find the answer to.” This mystery, she says, had a satisfying resolution, and at least one of the books, the copy of Salome, tells a compelling story on its own.

“This is a book that was sold at auction to pay off the debts to the father of Oscar Wilde’s lover,” Pipkin explains. “You very rarely get a single book that tells such a well-connected story on its own.”

A lot of special collections at universities are made up of donations from 19th-century book collectors, and their collections stayed together as this amazing resource. But we don’t have that for Oscar Wilde, as a direct result of laws and attitudes toward LGBT people in the past. Tracing these books helps rebuild these lost pieces of history.

Pipkin laughs at the small moments that carried her toward her eventual career path and the Wilde books. The longer she worked at Kislak during her undergraduate days, the more intrigued she was about preserving these links to centuries-old literary history. She had intentions of attending law school, but health issues prompted her to reassess. She leaned into librarianship. “That is not a choice I regret,” Pipkin says. “It’s a career that I have found very fulfilling.”

Her time at Penn included a semester abroad in London. And, through the university’s partnership with King’s College London, she met a British student who later became her husband. A California native, Pipkin moved overseas after graduation.

Pipkin says she is proud she followed this path, proud that the three books newly attributed to Wilde’s collection add to what’s known about the author and an important facet of LGBTQ history. It’s possible Wilde’s other books are housed—but unrecognizable—in libraries and private collections across the world; Pipkin says she hopes her discoveries prompt deeper digging. UCL Special Collections continues to search for further traces of Wilde.

“A lot of special collections at universities are made up of donations from 19th-century book collectors, and their collections stayed together as this amazing resource,” Pipkin says. “But we don’t have that for Oscar Wilde, as a direct result of laws and attitudes toward LGBT people in the past. Tracing these books helps rebuild these lost pieces of history.”