Oscar Wilde

The Importance of Being Earnest is a witty and satirical play by Oscar Wilde that has entertained audiences for over a century. This edition features the original text and a beautifully designed cover. Follow the hilarious misadventures of two friends as they navigate the complexities of Victorian society and love. A trivial comedy for serious people Portrays Wilde's examination of societal norms and pretensions. Features unforgettable characters. Includes masterful use of language, with clever puns, double entendre, and sparkling dialogue. Humorously exposes the hypocrisy and absurdity of rigid social conventions. A timeless classic that will delight and entertain readers of all ages.

"Leyendo y releyendo, a lo largo de los a os, a Wilde, noto un hecho que sus panegiristas no parecen haber sospechado siquiera: el hecho comprobable y elemental de que Wilde, casi siempre, tiene raz n." Jorge Luis Borges "Observa Stevenson que hay una virtud sin la cual todas las dem s son in tiles; esa virtud es el encanto. Los largos siglos de la literatura nos ofrecen autores harto m s complejos e imaginativos que Wilde; ninguno m s encantador. Lo fue en el di logo casual, lo fue en la amistad, lo fue en los a os de la dicha y en los a os adversos. Sigue si ndolo en cada l nea que ha trazado su pluma. M s que los otros de su especie, Oscar Wilde fue un homo ludens. ...] Jug con la novela: Dorian Gray es una variaci n decorativa ejecutada sobre el tema de Jekyll y Hyde. Jug tr gicamente con su destino; inici un pleito que sab a de antemano perdido y que lo llevar a a la c rcel y a la deshonra. ...]

Die Handlung setzt mit einem Gespr ch zweier junger M nner ein, Lord Henry Wotton (genannt Lord Henry oder Harry), eines gebildeten Dandys, und des erfolgreichen Malers Basil Hallward. Ort des Geschehens ist Basils Atelier, das sich in einen Garten ffnet. Es geht um Kunst und Selbstinszenierung. Hallwards im Atelier aufgestelltes Ganzk rper-Portr t des sch nen, jungen Dorian Gray r hrt Lord Henrys Neugier, so dass Hallward von seiner ersten, ergreifenden Begegnung mit dem jungen Mann zu erz hlen beginnt, die ihn an "den Rand einer Lebenskrise" gebracht habe.

Oscar Wilde's story of a fashionable young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty is one of his most popular works. Written in Wilde's characteristically dazzling manner, full of stinging epigrams and shrewd observations, the tale of Dorian Gray's moral disintegration caused something of a scandal when it first appeared in 1890. Wilde was attacked for his decadence and corrupting influence, and a few years later the book and the aesthetic/moral dilemma it presented became issues in the trials occasioned by Wilde's homosexual liaisons, trials that resulted in his imprisonment. Of the book's value as autobiography, Wilde noted in a letter, "Basil Hallward is what I think I am: Lord Henry what the world thinks me: Dorian what I would like to be--in other ages, perhaps."

The Soul of Man under Socialism is an 1891 essay by Oscar Wilde. Wilde puts forth the argument that within a capitalist system "the majority of people spoil their lives by an unhealthy and exaggerated altruism - are forced, indeed, so to spoil them" - that the necessity of solving the problems that capitalism creates draws away the talent that could otherwise be used to fulfill one's potential. In taking the the cause of this away, "Socialism itself will be of value simply because it will lead to individualism."

The Picture of Dorian Gray begins on a beautiful summer day in Victorian era England, where Lord Henry Wotton, an opinionated man, is observing the sensitive artist Basil Hallward painting the portrait of Dorian Gray, a handsome young man who is Basil's ultimate muse. While sitting for the painting, Dorian listens to Lord Henry espousing his hedonistic world view, and begins to think that beauty is the only aspect of life worth pursuing. This prompts Dorian to wish that the painted image of himself would age instead of himself.

The play opens with a party on a terrace in Lady Hunstanton's estate. The upper class guests exchange social gossip and small talk. Lady Caroline Pontrefact patronizes an American visitor, Hester Worsley, and proceeds to give her own opinion on everyone in the room and her surrounding life. Lady Caroline also denounces Hester's enthusiasm for Gerald Arbuthnot until Gerald himself enters to proclaim that Lord Illingworth, a powerful, flirtatious male political figure intends to take him under his wing as secretary.

"Miscellanies", by Oscar Wilde. Oscar Wilde was an irish writer and poet

Oscar Wilde's The Happy Prince and Other Tales is a collection of stories for children each of which is so poignant and exquisite that they are as treasured by adults as they are by children. The stories included in this collection are: The Happy Prince The Nightingale and the Rose The Selfish Giant The Devoted Friend The Remarkable Rocket

De Profundis (Latin: "from the depths") is an epistle written by Oscar Wilde during his imprisonment in Reading Gaol, to Lord Alfred Douglas. In its first half Wilde recounts their previous relationship and extravagant lifestyle which eventually led to Wilde's conviction and imprisonment for gross indecency. He indicts both Lord Alfred's vanity and his own weakness in acceding to those wishes. In the second half, Wilde charts his spiritual development in prison and identification with Jesus Christ, whom he characterises as a romantic, individualist artist. The letter began "Dear Bosie" and ended "Your Affectionate Friend".

A House of Pomegranates is a collection of fairy tales, written by Oscar Wilde, that was published in 1891 as a second collection for The Happy Prince and Other Tales (1888). Wilde once said that this collection was "intended neither for the British child nor the British public."

In 1895, Oscar Wilde was sentenced to two years of hard labor as punishment for having engaged in homosexual acts. While serving out his sentence at Reading Gaol in Berkshire, Wilde witnessed the execution by hanging of a young soldier who had murdered his wife by slashing her throat. Profoundly shaken by the execution and the crime that preceded it, Wilde composed this elegiac poem centered on the haunting refrain, "Yet each man kills the thing he loves."

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.

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.

"Reviews", by Oscar Wilde. Oscar Wilde was an irish writer and poet (1854-1900).

A farce, one of the best ever written, cleverly constructed and delightfully amusing. There is only the slightest attempt at the sketching of character, while most of the personages are at best but caricatures; the Wilde's skill is brought to bear chiefly upon the situations and the lines. It so happens that this farce contains more clever lines, puns, epigrams, and deft repartees than any other of modern times, but these are after all accessory. A farce may be written without these additions--it might well be pure pantomime. Wilde has thrown them in for full measure.

The artist is the creator of beautiful things. To reveal art and conceal the artist is art's aim. The critic is he who can translate into another manner or a new material his impression of beautiful things.

Lady Windermere's Fan: A Play About a Good Woman is a play by Oscar Wilde, who uses his sharp wit to satirize Victorian ideals about marriage. Lady Windemere suspects her husband of infidelity and retaliates by taking a lover. Her husband's suspected lover follows her, begging her to return to Lord Windemere. The lover sacrifices her own reputation for that of Lady Windemere, in order to save that lady's marriage.

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.