What is the author's style in Oscar Wilde by Richard Ellmann?

This biography is difficult to read. It was copyrighted in 1984, and one can assume that a number of years or decades of research were involved before the actual writing was done. Possibly as a result of this, the biographer employs a vocabulary that is not commonly used today. Reading without access to an unabridged dictionary can leave gaps in the meaning wide enough for the biographer's intent to drop out. Examples include "aegis," "insouciantly," "profligacy," "sartorial," "proscenium," "apostate," "elegiacally," "captious," "oblation," and "archly (looking this up brings an interesting surprise)."