Oscar Wilde

Lord Arthur Savile's Crime By Oscar WildeIt was Lady Windermere's last reception before Easter, and Bentinck House was even more crowded than usual. Six Cabinet Ministers had come on from the Speaker's Lev e in their stars and ribands, all the pretty women wore their smartest dresses, and at the end of the picture-gallery stood the Princess Sophia of Carlsr he, a heavy Tartar-looking lady, with tiny black eyes and wonderful emeralds, talking bad French at the top of her voice, and laughing immoderately at everything that was said to her. It was certainly a wonderful medley of people. Gorgeous peeresses chatted affably to violent Radicals, popular preachers brushed coat-tails with eminent sceptics, a perfect bevy of bishops kept following a stout prima-donna from room to room, on the staircase stood several Royal Academicians, disguised as artists, and it was said that at one time the supper-room was absolutely crammed with geniuses. In fact, it was one of Lady Windermere's best nights, and the Princess stayed till nearly half-past eleven. As soon as she had gone, Lady Windermere returned to the picture-gallery, where a celebrated political economist was solemnly explaining the scientific theory of music to an indignant virtuoso from Hungary, and began to talk to the Duchess of Paisley. She looked wonderfully beautiful with her grand ivory throat, her large blue forget-me-not eyes, and her heavy coils of golden hair. Or pur they were-not that pale straw colour that nowadays usurps the gracious name of gold, but such gold as is woven into sunbeams or hidden in strange amber and they gave to her face something of the frame of a saint, with not a little of the fascination of a sinner. She was a curious psychological study. Early in life she had discovered the important truth that nothing looks so like innocence as an indiscretion and by a series of reckless escapades, half of them quite harmless, she had acquired all the privileges of a personality. She had more than once changed her husband indeed, Debrett credits her with three marriages but as she had never changed her lover, the world had long ago ceased to talk scandal about her. She was now forty years of age, childless, and with that inordinate passion for pleasure which is the secret of remaining young. Suddenly she looked eagerly round the room, and said, in her clear contralto voice, 'Where is my cheiromantist' 'Your what, Gladys' exclaimed the Duchess, giving an involuntary start. 'My cheiromantist, Duchess I can't live without him at present.' 'Dear Gladys you are always so original, ' murmured the Duchess, trying to remember what a cheiromantist really was, and hoping it was not the same as a cheiropodist. 'He comes to see my hand twice a week regularly, ' continued Lady Windermere, 'and is most interesting about it.' 'Good heavens ' said the Duchess to herself, 'he is a sort of cheiropodist after all. How very dreadful. I hope he is a foreigner at any rate. It wouldn't be quite so bad then.' 'I must certainly introduce him to you.' 'Introduce him ' cried the Duchess 'you don't mean to say he is here' and she began looking about for a small tortoise-shell fan and a very tattered lace shawl, so as to be ready to go at a moment's notice. 'Of course he is here

Vera or, The Nihilists By Oscar WildeVera or, The Nihilists is a play by Oscar Wilde. It is a melodramatic tragedy set in Russia and is loosely based on the life of Vera Zasulich. It was Wilde's first play, and the first to be performed. In 1880, with only a few copies privately printed, arrangements were made with noted actresses for a production in the United Kingdom, but this never materialized. The first public performance was in New York City in 1883 at the Union Square Theatre, based on revisions made by Wilde while lecturing in America in 1882. The play was not a success and folded after only one week. It is rarely revived. At the time of writing, the reform-minded Tsar Alexander II was involved in a struggle with revolutionaries who sought to assassinate him (and eventually succeeded). Though none of Wilde's characters correspond to actual Russian people of the time, the above situation was well-known both to Wilde and to the audience for which he was writing. It has been suggested that the plot was inspired by true events. In 1878, three years before the play's completion, Vera Zasulich shot the Governor of St Petersburg, Trepov. Wilde described himself as a Socialist, although Ellmann describes his Socialism as more "a general hatred of tyranny" than a specific political belief. Marie Prescott and her husband, Mr Perzel purchased the rights to perform the play, and she was the leading actress in its first performance at the Union Square Theatre. Wilde travelled to America for the second time in his life specifically to oversee the production. The play was withdrawn after one week. Mr Perzel stated to newspapers "the play is withdrawn simply because it did not pay," citing that he had lost $2,500 on the piece the previous week. He also implied that he had hoped Wilde himself would lecture between the acts, allowing him to capitalise on Wilde's popularity as a public speaker. Peter Sabouroff (an Innkeeper). Vera Sabouroff (his Daughter). Michael (a Peasant). Dmitri Sabouroff. Colonel Kotemkin. Ivan the Czar. Prince Paul Maraloffski (Prime Minister of Russia). Prince Petrovitch. Count Rouvaloff. Marquis de Poivrard. Baron Raff. General Kotemkin. A Page. A Colonel of the Guard. Peter Tchernavitch, President of the Nihilists. Michael. Alexis Ivanacievitch, known as a Student of Medicine.

A Critic in Pall Mall By Oscar WildeAs one enters Rome from the Via Ostiensis by the Porta San Paolo, the first object that meets the eye is a marble pyramid which stands close at hand on the left. There are many Egyptian obelisks in Rome-tall, snakelike spires of red sandstone, mottled with strange writings, which remind us of the pillars of flame which led the children of Israel through the desert away from the land of the Pharaohs but more wonderful than these to look upon is this gaunt, wedge-shaped pyramid standing here in this Italian city, unshattered amid the ruins and wrecks of time, looking older than the Eternal City itself, like terrible impassiveness turned to stone. And so in the Middle Ages men supposed this to be the sepulchre of Remus, who was slain by his own brother at the founding of the city, so ancient and mysterious it appears but we have now, perhaps unfortunately, more accurate information about it, and know that it is the tomb of one Caius Cestius, a Roman gentleman of small note, who died about 30 b.c. Yet though we cannot care much for the dead man who lies in lonely state beneath it, and who is only known to the world through his sepulchre, still this pyramid will be ever dear to the eyes of all English-speaking people, because at evening its shadows fall on the tomb of one who walks with Spenser, and Shakespeare, and Byron, and Shelley, and Elizabeth Barrett Browning in the great procession of the sweet singers of England. And the name of the young English poet is John Keats. Lord Houghton calls this cemetery 'one of the most beautiful spots on which the eye and heart of man can rest, ' and Shelley speaks of it as making one 'in love with death, to think that one should be buried in so sweet a place' and indeed when I saw the violets and the daisies and the poppies that overgrow the tomb, I remembered how the dead poet had once told his friend that he thought the 'intensest pleasure he had received in life was in watching the growth of flowers, ' and how another time, after lying a while quite still, he murmured in some strange prescience of early death, 'I feel the flowers growing over me.'But this time-worn stone and these wildflowers are but poor memorials of one so great as Keats most of all, too, in this city of Rome, which pays such honour to her dead where popes, and emperors, and saints, and cardinals lie hidden in 'porphyry wombs, ' or couched in baths of jasper and chalcedony and malachite, ablaze with precious stones and metals, and tended with continual service. List of writings A Critic in Pall Mall is a collection of writings from the famous Irish author Oscar Wilde. The collection includes: The Tomb of Keats Keats's Sonnet on Blue Dinners and Dishes Shakespeare on Scenery' Henry the Fourth' at Oxford A Handbook to Marriage To Read or Not to Read The Letters of a Great Woman B ranger in England The Poetry of the People 'The Cenci' Balzac in English Ben Jonson Mr. Symonds' History of the Renaissance

An Ideal Husband is an 1895 comedic stage play by Oscar Wilde which revolves around blackmail and political corruption, and touches on the themes of public and private honour. The action is set in London, in "the present", and takes place over the course of twenty-four hours." Sooner or later," Wilde notes, "we shall all have to pay for what we do." But he adds that, "No one should be entirely judged by their past." Together with The Importance of Being Earnest, it is often considered Wilde's dramatic masterpiece. After Earnest, it is his most popularly produced play.

'Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life'The two works brought together here, 'The Decay of Lying' and 'The Critic as Artist', are Oscar Wilde's wittiest and most profound writings on aesthetics, in which he proposes that criticism is the highest form of creation and that lying, the telling of a beautiful untruth, is the ultimate aim of art. One of twenty new books in the bestselling Penguin Great Ideas series. This new selection showcases a diverse list of thinkers who have helped shape our world today, from anarchists to stoics, feminists to prophets, satirists to Zen Buddhists.

Now a revered gothic classic, when this novel was first published it was said to be poisonous and, "heavy with the mephitic odours of moral and spiritual putrefaction - a gloating study of the mental and physical corruption of a fresh, fair and golden youth . . ." Dorian Gray is granted eternal youth and good looks, but under the influence of a cold and calculating older gentleman, he dedicates his life to sensual pleasure. While he descends ever deeper into the world of sex, drugs, and crime, the image in his portrait preserves the record of every sin, growing more and more hideous as the years go by. Can Dorian continue to keep his dreadful secret, or will it destroy him? Keynote Classics(TM) unabridged classic literature feature a no-spoiler Introductory Key, explanatory footnotes, and wide margins for note-taking to help readers get more from their reading experience, and remember, discuss, or write more confidently about classic literature. Annotated Keynote Classics(TM) begin with an Introductory Key to the work with hints about what to look for to find deeper meaning. Unlike other literature study guides, they contain no spoilers and don't specify themes, motifs, and symbols found in the novel. Instead, they point out general ideas and things to pay attention to that help you find your own interpretations. Footnotes help foster understanding, and historical context about the author and the prevailing culture provides important perspective. Questions are provided at the end to help inspire discussion or essay topics. Teachers recommend that you read actively and engage with the text to help you draw on your own knowledge and experience to get more out of a novel. Keynote Classics(TM) paperbacks provide more space in the margins for writing down thoughts, connections, and interpretations as you read.

The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at the St James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious personae to escape burdensome social obligations. Working within the social conventions of late Victorian London, the play's major themes are the triviality with which it treats institutions as serious as marriage, and the resulting satire of Victorian ways. Some contemporary reviews praised the play's humour and the culmination of Wilde's artistic career, while others were cautious about its lack of social messages. Its high farce and witty dialogue have helped make The Importance of Being Earnest Wilde's most enduringly popular play. The successful opening night marked the climax of Wilde's career but also heralded his downfall. The Marquess of Queensberry, whose son Lord Alfred Douglas was Wilde's lover, planned to present the writer with a bouquet of rotten vegetables and disrupt the show. Wilde was tipped off and Queensberry was refused admission. Their feud came to a climax in court, where Wilde's homosexuality was revealed to the Victorian public and he was sentenced to imprisonment. Despite the play's early success, Wilde's notoriety caused the play to be closed after 86 performances. After his release from prison, he published the play from exile in Paris, but he wrote no further comic or dramatic work. The Importance of Being Earnest has been revived many times since its premiere. It has been adapted for the cinema on three occasions. In The Importance of Being Earnest (1952), Dame Edith Evans reprised her celebrated interpretation of Lady Bracknell; The Importance of Being Earnest (1992) by Kurt Baker used an all-black cast; and Oliver Parker's The Importance of Being Earnest (2002) incorporated some of Wilde's original material cut during the preparation of the original stage production. (wikipedia.org)

The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at the St James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious personae to escape burdensome social obligations. Working within the social conventions of late Victorian London, the play's major themes are the triviality with which it treats institutions as serious as marriage, and the resulting satire of Victorian ways. Some contemporary reviews praised the play's humour and the culmination of Wilde's artistic career, while others were cautious about its lack of social messages. Its high farce and witty dialogue have helped make The Importance of Being Earnest Wilde's most enduringly popular play. The successful opening night marked the climax of Wilde's career but also heralded his downfall. The Marquess of Queensberry, whose son Lord Alfred Douglas was Wilde's lover, planned to present the writer with a bouquet of rotten vegetables and disrupt the show. Wilde was tipped off and Queensberry was refused admission. Their feud came to a climax in court, where Wilde's homosexuality was revealed to the Victorian public and he was sentenced to imprisonment. Despite the play's early success, Wilde's notoriety caused the play to be closed after 86 performances. After his release from prison, he published the play from exile in Paris, but he wrote no further comic or dramatic work. The Importance of Being Earnest has been revived many times since its premiere. It has been adapted for the cinema on three occasions. In The Importance of Being Earnest (1952), Dame Edith Evans reprised her celebrated interpretation of Lady Bracknell; The Importance of Being Earnest (1992) by Kurt Baker used an all-black cast; and Oliver Parker's The Importance of Being Earnest (2002) incorporated some of Wilde's original material cut during the preparation of the original stage production. (wikipedia.org)

Little treasures, the FLAME TREE COLLECTABLE CLASSICS are chosen to create a delightful and timeless home library. Each stunning, gift edition features deluxe cover treatments, ribbon markers, luxury endpapers and gilded edges. The unabridged text is accompanied by a Glossary of Victorian and Literary terms produced for the modern reader. The young, beautiful and highly susceptible Dorian Gray is pulled into the hedonistic haze of London’s high society, where he falls under the pernicious influence of Lord Henry Wotton. Oscar Wilde’s nightmarish tale gorges on pleasure and sin, corruption and vanity, as the story takes further dark twists and a Faustian deal threatens Gray’s very soul. He will go to any lengths to keep his fleeting beauty and youth, but his painted portrait reveals the truth of his dark and twisted nature, changing its appearance at every misdeed, until the monstrous horror of Dorian’s scarred soul is too much for him to bear.

"Salom " is a 1891 play in one act by Oscar Wilde. Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (1854-1900) was an Irish poet and playwright who became one of the most popular in London during the 1880s and 1890s. Well-known for his sharp wit and extravagant attire, Wilde was a proponent of aestheticism and wrote in a variety of forms including poetry, fiction, and drama. He was famously imprisoned for homosexual acts from 1895 to 1897 and died at the age of 46, just three years after his release. In his play "Salom ", Wilde offers his own telling of the Bible's story of Salome, the stepdaughter of Herod Antipas who demands John the Baptist's head as payment for her performance of the dance of the seven veils. A fantastic play not to be missed by lovers of the stage and fans Wilde's seminal work. Other notable works by this author include: "Picture of Dorian Gray" (1890), "An Ideal Husband" (1893), and "The Importance of Being Earnest" (1895). Read & Co. Classics is proudly republishing this classic play now complete with a specially-commissioned new biography of the author.

"A Picture is a Purely Decorative Thing" is a brand new collection of essays and excerpts on the subject of The Arts written by Oscar Wilde. Contents include: "The Artist", "The English Renaissance of Art", "An Exposure of Naturalism", "Sculpture at The Arts and Crafts", "House Decoration", "The Poetry of Arch ology", "The Art of Arch ology", "Art and the Handicraftsman", "Mr. Morris on Tapestry", "Lecture to Art Students", "The Relation of Dress to Art", "London Models", "Pen, Pencil and Poison", "Printing and Printers", etc. Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (1854-1900) was an Irish poet and playwright who became one of the most popular in London during the 1880s and 1890s. Well-known for his sharp wit and extravagant attire, Wilde was a proponent of aestheticism and wrote in a variety of forms including poetry, fiction, and drama. He was famously imprisoned for homosexual acts from 1895 to 1897 and died at the age of 46, just three years after his release. A fantastic collection of interesting and thought-provoking essays not to be missed by those with an interest in the work and mind of this seminal literary figure. Other notable works by this author include: "Picture of Dorian Gray" (1890), "Salome" (1891), and "The Importance of Being Earnest" (1895). Read & Co. Great Essays is proudly publishing this brand-new collection of classic essays complete with a specially-commissioned new biography of Oscar Wilde.

"The Happy Prince and Other Tales" is a 1888 collection of children's short stories by Oscar Wilde. Beautifully illustrated by Walter Crane, these stories include: "The Happy Prince", "The Nightingale and the Rose", "The Selfish Giant", "The Devoted Friend", and "The Remarkable Rocket". Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (1854-1900) was an Irish poet and playwright who became one of the most popular in London during the 1880s and 1890s. Well-known for his sharp wit and extravagant attire, Wilde was a proponent of aestheticism and wrote in a variety of forms including poetry, fiction, and drama. He was famously imprisoned for homosexual acts from 1895 to 1897 and died at the age of 46, just three years after his release. A fantastic collection of Wilde's best fiction not to be missed by fans and collectors of his seminal work. Other notable works by this author include: "Picture of Dorian Gray" (1890), "Salome" (1891), and "The Importance of Being Earnest" (1895). Read & Co. Children's is proudly republishing this classic collection of children's short stories now complete with a specially-commissioned new biography of the author.

Originally published in 1898, "The Ballad of Reading Gaol" is a poem written by Oscar Wilde. Composed after his release from the titular prison whilst he was in exile in Berneval-le-Grand, the poem deals with the hanging at Reading Goal of Charles Thomas Wooldridge, a 30-year-old man who was imprisoned for cutting his wife's throat. Within the poem, Wilde narrates the execution in full and explores the brutal nature of the punishment that all inmates must endure. Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (1854-1900) was an Irish poet and playwright who became one of the most popular in London during the 1880s and 1890s. Well-known for his sharp wit and extravagant attire, Wilde was a proponent of aestheticism and wrote in a variety of forms including poetry, fiction, and drama. He was famously imprisoned for homosexual acts from 1895 to 1897 and died at the age of 46, just three years after his release. Other notable works by this author include: "Picture of Dorian Gray" (1890), "Salome" (1891), and "The Importance of Being Earnest" (1895). Ragged Hand is proudly republishing this classic poem now complete with a specially-commissioned new biography of the author.

Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (1854-1900) was an Irish poet and playwright who became one of the most popular in London during the 1880s and 1890s. Well-known for his sharp wit and extravagant attire, Wilde was a proponent of aestheticism and wrote in a variety of forms including poetry, fiction, and drama. He was famously imprisoned for homosexual acts from 1895 to 1897 and died at the age of 46, just three years after his release. This book contains a brand-new collection of some of Wilde's best poetry, including the titular "My Voice". A fantastic collection of poetry by one of the nineteenth century's most notable poets not to be missed by fans and collectors of Wilde's wonderful work. Contents include: "Canzonet", "Amor Intellectualis", "Flower of Love", "Vita Nuova", "A Vision", "Ave Imperatrix", "Under the Balcony", "Rome Unvisited", "Easter Day", "The Grave of Shelley", "Her Voice", "Camma", "The Grave of Keats", "Fantaisies D coratives - Le Panneau", "The Burden of Itys", etc. Other notable works by this author include: "Picture of Dorian Gray" (1890), "Salome" (1891), and "The Importance of Being Earnest" (1895). Ragged Hand is proudly publishing this brand-new work complete with a specially-commissioned new biography of Oscar Wilde.

"An Ideal Husband" is a play in four acts by Oscar Wilde. The narrative revolves around a Government minister named Sir Robert Chiltern whose successful career and happy marriage life are put under threat with the arrival into London society of Mrs. Cheveley, who appears to have in her possession evidence of Chiltern's past transgressions. Panicking, Chiltern turns to his friend the scandalous Lord Goring, who is familiar with Mrs. Cheveley and her own misdeeds. As with many of Wilde's plays, "An Ideal Husband" deals with such themes as aristocratic hypocrisy, the position of women, and public and private honour. The play was first performed in 1895, and in April of the same year Wilde was arrested for "gross indecency"-leading to his name being publicly removed from the play. Concentrating heavily on the idea of being forgiven for sins of the past, many believe that Wilde was speaking in fact from personal experience and his fear of repercussions for his own controversial private life. Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (1854-1900) was an Irish poet and playwright who became one of the most popular in London during the 1880s and 1890s. Well-known for his sharp wit and extravagant attire, Wilde was a proponent of aestheticism and wrote in a variety of forms including poetry, fiction, and drama. He was famously imprisoned for homosexual acts from 1895 to 1897 and died at the age of 46, just three years after his release. Other notable works by this author include: "Picture of Dorian Gray" (1890), "Salome" (1891), and "The Importance of Being Earnest" (1895). Read & Co. Classics is proudly republishing this classic play now in a new edition complete with a specially-commissioned new biography of Oscar Wilde.

"A Woman of No Importance" is an 1893 play in four acts by Oscar Wilde. First performed at the Haymarket Theatre in London, it represents a razor-sharp satire of England's aristocratic society in the late nineteenth century. Exceedingly witty and highly enjoyable, "A Woman of No Importance" is highly recommended for theatre lovers and those who have enjoyed other works by Wilde. Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (1854-1900) was an Irish poet and playwright who became one of the most popular in London during the 1880s and 1890s. Well-known for his sharp wit and extravagant attire, Wilde was a proponent of aestheticism and wrote in a variety of forms including poetry, fiction, and drama. He was famously imprisoned for homosexual acts from 1895 to 1897 and died at the age of 46, just three years after his release. A fantastic play brimming with Wilde's trademark wit not to be missed by fans of his seminal work. Other notable works by this author include: "Picture of Dorian Gray" (1890), "Salome" (1891), and "The Importance of Being Earnest" (1895). Read & Co. Classics is proudly republishing this classic play now in a new edition complete with a specially-commissioned new biography of Oscar Wilde.

The Happy Prince and Other Tales (sometimes called The Happy Prince and Other Stories) is a collection of stories for children by Oscar Wilde first published in May 1888. It contains five stories: "The Happy Prince", "The Nightingale and the Rose", "The Selfish Giant", "The Devoted Friend", and "The Remarkable Rocket". In a town full of suffering poor people, a swallow who was left behind after his flock flew off to Egypt for the winter meets the statue of the late "Happy Prince", who in reality has never experienced true sorrow, for he lived in a palace where sorrow was not allowed to enter. Viewing various scenes of people suffering in poverty from his tall monument, the Happy Prince asks the swallow to take the ruby from his hilt, the sapphires from his eyes, and the gold leaf covering his body to give to the poor. As the winter comes and the Happy Prince is stripped of all of his beauty, his lead heart breaks when the swallow dies as a result of his selfless deeds and severe cold. The people, unaware of their good deeds, take the statue down from the pillar due to its shabbiness (intending to replace it with one of the Mayor, ) and the metal melted in a furnace, leaving behind the broken heart and the dead swallow; they are thrown in a dust heap. These are taken up to heaven by an Angel that has deemed them the two most precious things in the city. This is affirmed by God, and they live forever in His "city of gold" and garden of Paradise.

Part of the Chiltern Classics range. When having his portrait painted, Dorian Gray declares he would give anything to stay youthful - even his soul. Dorian descends into a life of decadent excess, and while he retains his youthful looks, the portrait becomes horrifically disfigured. Oscar Wilde's only novel is a dark, Faustian fable of wish fulfilment that leads to an inescapable day of reckoning. Chiltern are publishers of exquisitely crafted editions of the world’s finest classic literature. These beautiful books are a perfect mix of tradition and the very latest in printing techniques. With wonderful original, detailed and embossed covers, sparkling gilt edges, cream art paper, ribbon markers and stitched binding they are simply the most beautiful classics ever published.