J. Robert Maguire, Independent scholar

Robert Maguire entered Princeton in June 1942 and withdrew in March 1943 to join the American Army. After service in the Pacific, he returned to Princeton in March 1946, withdrawing in June to spend the summer in Paris working with the American Delegation to the Peace Conference. While there he developed what became a life-long interest in the Dreyfus affair. He again withdrew from Princeton in September 1947 to spend a year at Christ's College, Cambridge, returning to Princeton to graduate in September 1948. Following graduation, he spent the next two years in Germany as a member of the American Displaced Persons Commission. In September 1950, he entered Yale University Law School, graduating (LLB) in June 1953, followed by a JD (Juris Doctor) degree in 1987. In addition to employment in a New York law firm (White & Case) for ten years, Maguire's institutional affiliations have been mainly trusteeships and/or committee memberships with various museums aand libraries.

"the most original part of Ceremonies of Bravery is undoubtedly its account of the indirect participation of Wilde and Blacker in the Dreyfus affair which eventually led to their estrangement." - John Stokes, Review of English Studies

"Maguire offers a beautifully written, meticulously researched, and suspenseful book. It is sometimes difficult to call an academic work a page-turner, but the dramatic setup of Ceremonies of Bravery - namely, why did Oscar Wilde and Carlos Blacker have a falling out over the Dreyfus affair? - is emotionally and intellectually involving. Maguire succeeds in painting a vivid portrait of the interactions between Wilde and Blacker during Wilde's imprisonment, as well as making clear the nature of their involvement in the Dreyfus case ... Essential." - J. W. Moffett, Choice

"Ceremonies of Bravery is a recondite book, written with lawyerly precision and patrician understatement, but it also has rare charm. The loving care with which Maguire has assembled his odd, out-of-the-way story is palpable." - Richard Davenport-Hines, The Spectator

"Ceremonies of Bravery is an exceptional book for a simple reason; it tells a fascinating story and fills in many gaps in our knowledge of the last years in the life of Oscar Wilde." - Imad Moustapha, Weblog of a Syrian Diplomat in America

"...a richly detailed, well-written and meticulously researched account of previously neglected associations" - Robert Finnigan, Irish Studies Review