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Written during his time in Reading jail, De Profundis is Oscar Wilde's moving letter to Lord Alfred Douglas, whose relationship with Wilde led to the poet's imprisonment. Here Wilde repudiates Lord Alfred and reflects on his ordeal, acknowledging how the depths of his sorrow have helped liberate him towards a fuller, freer wisdom.

Brimming with beautiful passages, De Profundis is a profound and inspiring treatise on the meaning of suffering, and is introduced by Wilde's only grandchild, Merlin Holland.

Christopher Merlin Vyvyan Holland is a biographer and editor and is the only grandchild of Oscar Wilde.

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) was born in Dublin. He won scholarships to both Trinity College, Dublin, and Magdalen College, Oxford, where he was heavily influenced by the radical aesthetics of Walter Pater. Flamboyant wit and man-about-town, Wilde had a reputation that preceded him, especially in his early career. After publishing two volumes of short stories between 1887 and 1891, his social-comedy plays such as Lady Windermere's Fan and The Importance of Being Earnest established his critical and commercial success. In 1895 Wilde was sentenced to two years' imprisonment for homosexual conduct and died in Paris in obscurity a few years after his release.

Simon Russell Beale is a British actor, author, and music historian. A multiaward-winning actor of stage and television, he was described in the London Independent as "the greatest stage actor of his generation." He has won eight AudioFile Earphones Awards for his narrations.