Oscar Wilde

Reproduction of the original: Lord Arthur Savile s Crime - The Portrait of Mr. W. H. and other Stories by Oscar Wilde

Reproduction of the original: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Reproduction of the original: Selected Prose by Oscar Wilde

The Importance of Being Earnest is a comedy of manners set in Victorian England. Algernon lives in London and says he has a sick friend in the country. He uses visits to his imaginary friend to get out of things. His best friend, Ernest, is also Jack and is doing the exact same thing. Misunderstandings abound in this comedy. 'The truth is rarely pure, and never simple.', '...in married life three is company and two is none.' Is this play a 'unique work of art' as Oscar Wilde believed? Or, as a first-night reviewer claimed in 1895, it 'represents nothing, means nothing, is nothing'? This is for you to decide.

Playwright, novelist, essayist, poet and epigrammatist, Oscar Wilde was Ireland's greatest and most inspired wit. Renowned equally for his espousal of aestheticism and art for art's sake, he became notorious for his affairs with Lord Alfred Douglas and others. Today he is remembered for the brilliance of his writing, and this complete edition of his works contains all his plays, his only novel, The Portrait of Dorian Gray, as well as his essays, poems and stories for children, The Happy Prince and Other Tales, and his more worldly stories for adults, Lord Arthur Savile's Crime and Other Stories. The juxtaposition of his jeux d'esprits such as The Soul of Man under Socialism and The Portrait of Mr. W. H. contrast sharply with The Ballad of Reading Gaol and De Profundis, while Lady Windermere's Fan, A Woman of No Importance, An Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Earnest still enchant readers and theatre audiences today.

Excerpt from Salome: A Tragedy in One Act Archer has fortunately lived to see a good many Of his judgments justified, and beyond emphasising his interesting anticipation of the eventual place Salome was to occupy in musical composition, I need pay no further tribute to the brilliant perception of an honoured contemporary. The Times, while depreciating the drama, gave its author credit for a tour de force in being capable of writing a French play for Madame Bernhardt, and this drew from Wilde the following letter, which appeared in the Times on March 2ud, 1893. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Oscar Wilde's celebrated, scandalous, and only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, tells the story of the wealthy and handsome Londoner Dorian, whose obsession with his portrait leads him down a path of self-destruction. This literary classic is now available in a limited Olive Edition from HarperPerennial. Olive Editions are exclusive small format editions of some of our bestselling and celebrated titles, featuring beautiful and unique hand-drawn cover illustrations. All Olive Editions are available for a limited time only.

It is thought that a selection from Oscar Wilde's early verses may be of interest to a large public at present familiar only with the always popular Ballad of Reading Gaol, also included in this volume. The poems were first collected by their author when he was twenty-six years old, and though never, until recently, well received by the critics, have survived the test of NINE editions. Readers will be able to make for themselves the obvious and striking contrasts between these first and last phases of Oscar Wilde's literary activity. The intervening period was devoted almost entirely to dramas, prose, fiction, essays, and criticism.

Excerpt from The Canterville Ghost: An Amusing Chronicle of the Tribulations of the Ghost of Canterville Chase When His Ancestral Halls Became the Home of the American Minister to the Court of St. James Well, so does the family doctor for that matter, Lord Canterville. But there is no such thing, sir, as a ghost, and I guess the laws of Nature are not going to be suspended for the British aristocracy. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Collected her in one omnibus edition are Oscar Wilde's most important works including The Importance of Being Earnest, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Salome, Selected Poems of Oscar Wilde, The Soul of Man Under Socialism, The Happy Prince and Other Tales, and The Canterville Ghost. These works of poetry, fiction, drama, and prose encompass Wilde's entire career and they display his range of style and wit. Wilde is one of the most important writers in the history of the English language. Wilder Publications is a green publisher. All of our books are printed to order. This reduces waste and helps us keep prices low while greatly reducing our impact on the environment.

On the surface, Sir Robert Chiltern is an ideal husband-he has an impressive role as a member of the House of Commons and is always respectable in public and in private. His wife, Lady Chiltern, is proud of their privileged life. What she does not know is that Sir Robert's initial rise to power was founded in slightly shady circumstances, and over the course of twenty-four hours, these past indiscretions threaten to come to light, and the fate of the Chiltern's marriage is soon at stake.

The expectations and inequalities of the British upper-class are brought to the forefront when Mrs. Arbuthnot is forced to set her impeccable reputation aside for the sake of an important opportunity presented to her son, Gerald. Oscar Wilde's plays have been widely commended for their wit and biting satire of British social customs. Plays like A Woman of No Importance, An Ideal Husband, and The Importance of Being Earnest solidified Oscar Wilde's position as one of the most talented dramatists in the Victorian period.

De Profundis is a letter written by Oscar Wilde during his imprisonment. In the letter Wilde considers events leading to his conviction and discusses his spiritual development in prison and identification with Jesus Christ, whom he characterises as a romantic, individualist artist.

Reproduction of the original: A Woman of No Importance by Oscar Wilde

Reproduction of the original: Charmides and Other Poems by Oscar Wilde

Reproduction of the original: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde