A major UK library has honoured deceased Irish writer the literary icon by reissuing a library pass in his name, 130 years after his initial got cancelled following his conviction for "gross indecency".
The celebrated author and dramatist was excluded 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 grandson, writer his grandson, on this week, is intended to "recognize the wrongs and great pain" the writer endured, the library said.
Mr Holland said the reissued pass is a "lovely gesture of forgiveness" and "I believe his memory will be honored and pleased".
The decision to withdraw the author's access for the reading room - then the British Museum reading room - was recorded without comment in the trustees' minutes for 15 June 1895.
The writer had been in prison for several weeks at the time after being given a two-year prison sentence with hard labour.
The author was found guilty after he was defeated in a libel trial against Lord Queensberry, who had charged him of being gay after learning that his offspring, Bosie, was Wilde's lover.
Institutional rules at the time said anyone convicted of a crime should have their pass revoked.
'Jail correspondence deeply impactful'
The British Library contains original manuscripts of some of Wilde's most famous works including "The Importance of Being Earnest", "An Ideal Husband", "A Woman of No Importance" and Lady Windermere's Fan.
Its collection also includes the letter "De Profundis", the letter he wrote to Bosie from Reading Gaol.
Mr Holland, the sole surviving relative of the writer, will receive the reissued pass at a event at the location on what would have been his grandfather's 171st birthday.
Speaking on the event, Mr Holland said he felt both "proud" of his relative and slightly burdened 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, head of the British Library, described the author as "one of the most significant literary figures of the nineteenth century".
She said that by reinstating his library card, "our aim is to commemorate Wilde's legacy while recognizing the grave injustices he suffered due to his legal case".
She added that they were "delighted" to welcome his grandson - who is the author of a recent publication, After Oscar: The Legacy of a Scandal - to receive the library card on his behalf.
