Oscar Wilde’s infamous wit, taste for scandal, and gift for revealing the hypocrisies of fashionable society are on display here in this collection of his finest plays. A genius both of and ahead of his time, he built his craft on the eternal questions of right and wrong—with pithy dialogue as fresh today as when it was written. .

Oscar Wilde’s infamous wit, taste for scandal, and gift for revealing the hypocrisies of fashionable society are on display here in this collection of his finest plays. A genius both of and ahead of his time, he built his craft on the eternal questions of right and wrong—with pithy dialogue as fresh today as when it was written. .

Wit, dandy, literary anarchist, self-publicist, and homosexual martyr, Oscar Wilde achieved fame and notoriety at a time when mass culture and communication promoted the 'new' in every area of British life. This edition, part of Oxford's new Authors in Context series, examines the rich interplay between Wilde's society and his writings and shows the remarkable recontextualizing of Wilde and his work in film, stage, and the media in the century following his death.

Oscar Wilde is considered one of the most brillilant and controversial social and literary gures of all time. Wilde's prison writings include his most celebrated essay "De Profundis", written to Lord Alfred Douglas, and his legendary epic poem "The Ballad Of Reading Gaol".

Oscar Wilde is considered one of the most brillilant and controversial social and literary gures of all time. Wilde's prison writings include his most celebrated essay "De Profundis", written to Lord Alfred Douglas, and his legendary epic poem "The Ballad Of Reading Gaol".

Oscar Wilde is considered one of the most brilliant and controversial social and literary gures of all time. Wilde's prison writings include his most celebrated essay "De Profundis", written to Lord Alfred Douglas, and his legendary epic poem "The Ballad Of Reading Gaol".

Oscar Wilde is considered one of the most brilliant and controversial social and literary gures of all time. Wilde's prison writings include his most celebrated essay "De Profundis", written to Lord Alfred Douglas, and his legendary epic poem "The Ballad Of Reading Gaol".

"An excellent collection of some of Oscar Wilde's key works. A useful and representative selection of his writings, ideal for those not already familiar with his trademark wit or his more serious work, but equally valuable for the Wilde devotee." — newbooks magazine Poet and playwright Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) wrote sparkling comedies that were the toast of London's West End in the 1890s. The master of the witty epigram who could resist anything except temptation, Wilde was imprisoned by an unjust society and died in obscurity, but his enduring works continue to enchant readers and audiences. The Irish author's only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, appears in this splendid showcase of his philosophy and wit. Additional selections include Wilde's ever-popular comedies The Importance of Being Earnest and An Ideal Husband; his essay on aestheticism, "The Decay of Lying: An Observation"; his deeply moving prison letter, "De Profundis"; and fairy tales from A House of Pomegranates and The Happy Prince.

Oscar Wilde was already one of the best-known literary figures in Britain when he was persuaded to turn his extraordinary talents to the theatre. Between 1891 and 1895 he produced a sequence of distinctive plays which spearheaded the dramatic renaissance of the 1890s and retain their power today. This collection offers newly edited texts of Lady Windermere s Fan, A Woman of No Importance, Salome, An Ideal Husband, and, arguably the greatest farcical comedy in English, The Importance of Being Earnest.

Wildes supremely witty tale of dandies, anarchists and a murderous prophecy in London high society. Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguins 80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrate the huge range and diversity of Penguin Classics, with books from around the world and across many centuries. They take us from a balloon ride over Victorian London to a garden of blossom in Japan, from Tierra del Fuego to 16th-century California and the Russian steppe. Here are stories lyrical and savage; poems epic and intimate; essays satirical and inspirational; and ideas that have shaped the lives of millions. Oscar Wilde (1854-1900). Wildes works available in Penguin Classics are De Profundis and Other Prison Writings, The Complete Short Fiction, The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays, The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Soul of Man Under Socialism and Selected Critical Prose.

Wildes supremely witty tale of dandies, anarchists and a murderous prophecy in London high society. Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguins 80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrate the huge range and diversity of Penguin Classics, with books from around the world and across many centuries. They take us from a balloon ride over Victorian London to a garden of blossom in Japan, from Tierra del Fuego to 16th-century California and the Russian steppe. Here are stories lyrical and savage; poems epic and intimate; essays satirical and inspirational; and ideas that have shaped the lives of millions. Oscar Wilde (1854-1900). Wildes works available in Penguin Classics are De Profundis and Other Prison Writings, The Complete Short Fiction, The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays, The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Soul of Man Under Socialism and Selected Critical Prose.

'I have nothing to declare,' Wilde once told an American customs official, 'except my genius.' A socialite, a wit, a man who flaunted convention and was unafraid to shock, Oscar Wilde was a great writer and a great man. This new collection of wit and wisdom demonstrates the brilliance of his vision, the audacity of his style. Such is the scope of the material, it brings to life the Wilde of great feeling as well as the Wilde of great art.

Selection includes The Portrait of Mr W.H., Wilde's defence of Dorian Gray, reviews, and the writings from 'Intentions' (1891): 'The Decay of Lying, 'Pen, Pencil, Poison', and 'The Critic as Artist'. Wilde is familiar to us as the ironic critic behind the social comedies, as the creator of the beautiful and doomed Dorian Gray, as the flamboyant aesthete and the demonised homosexual. This volume presents us with a different Wilde. Wilde emerges here as a deep and serious reader of literature and philosophy, and an eloquent and original thinker about society and art.

A selection of Oscar Wilde's best and most important plays - sharp, relevant and brilliant to this day. Who would have thought a comedy of manners written more than a hundred years ago would still be so apt and so funny? Oscar Wilde was a genius of play-writing, and his deftness, wit and sharp eye for social satire keep audiences in thrall to this day. Alongside Earnest, discover a biblical tragedy retold, Lady Windemere and her infamous fan and Wilde's take on an ideal husband, in this selection of Wilde's most important plays.

The four great comedies of Oscar Wilde, Lady Windermere's Fan, A Woman of No Importance, An Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Earnest, were all written at the height of the controversial Irish author's powers in his last, doomed decade, the 1890s. They remain among the most-loved, and most-quoted, of all drama in the English language. Along with Salome, his darkly decadent dramatization of the Bible story, these immortal plays continue to pack theatres, and have been adapted for every kind of media. This Macmillan Collector's Library edition of The Importance of Being Earnest & Other Plays echoes the book form in which Wilde originally insisted his plays were published, and includes illustrations by Aubrey Beardsley and an afterword by Ned Halley. Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket-sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover.

Designed to appeal to the booklover, the Macmillan Collector's Library is a series of beautiful gift editions of much loved classic titles. Macmillan Collector's Library are books to love and treasure.This Macmillan Collector's Library edition of The Importance of Being Earnest & Other Plays echoes the book form in which Wilde originally insisted his plays were published, and includes illustrations by Aubrey Beardsley and an afterword by Ned Halley.The four great comedies of Oscar Wilde, Lady Windermere's Fan, A Woman of No Importance, An Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Earnest, were all written at the height of the controversial Irish author's powers in his last, doomed decade, the 1890s. They remain among the most-loved, and most-quoted, of all drama in the English language. Along with Salome, his darkly decadent dramatization of the Bible story, these immortal plays continue to pack theatres, and have been adapted for every kind of media. .