Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde's only novel, first published in 1890, is a brilliant puzzle, intended to tease convention minds with its exploration of the myriad interrelationships between art, life, and consequence. From its provocative preface, challenging the reader to believe in "art for art's sake," to its sensational conclusion, the book explores the nature of sin through the tale of a young man who sells his soul for a lifetime of beauty.

Sometimes inspiring, sometimes controversial, but always stimulating, Oscar Wilde's essay on socialism is a surprising contribution to nineteenth-century political thought. In veering away from the conventional meaning of socialism, he presents a view which is as much concerned with artistic creativity and individualism as it is with social justice. Following his conversion to anarchist philosophy after reading the works of Peter Kropotkin, Wilde's aesthetic, romantic approach fervently advances an idiosyncratic plea for personal freedom of expression. This new digital edition corrects a serious error of typographical style. Wilde's original article presents many phrases and sentences at key moments in his discourse IN ITALICS, which in subsequent editions were rendered in ordinary roman type, removing clarity and nuance from his writing. In this new edition the italics are restored.