Robins is a psychiatrist, and for decades taught clinical pharmacology and psychiatry at the U. of Cape Town in South Africa. He brings this specialization to his analysis of Oscar Wilde's life--the book does not intend an literary analysis of his writings--based on exhaustive study of Wilde's personal correspondence, the letters and lives of his wife and friends, official documents chronicling his confrontations with the law over charges of homosexuality, his time in prison, and Wilde's prison memoir De Profundis. He focuses in particular on the official documentation regarding Wilde's health and mental health, which is discussed in detail. Marshalling all the evidence, Robins concludes with a lengthy chapter offering his psychiatric prognosis of this popular, larger-than-life, and influential figure. Distributed in the US by ISBS. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)