Oscar Wilde

"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 personæ 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,...

The Collins edition of The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde has long been recognized as the most comprehensive one-volume collection of Oscar Wilde's work available. The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde contains his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, all his stories, plays and poems, and a substantial number of his essays and letters, all in their most authoritative texts. The Importance of Being Earnest, for example, is given in the four-act version,...

Oscar Wilde's collection of fairy stories, which he made up for his own sons, are among the greatest and most poignant classics for children and adults alike. Humor, pathos, delightful little characters abound in the stories of The Happy Prince and the Swallow who agrees to keep him company despite approaching winter; the Selfish Giant, who doesn't want children playing in his garden, and the Remarkable Rocket. In addition, there are those who are...

Jack Worthing gets antsy living at his country estate. As an excuse, he spins tales of his rowdy brother Earnest living in London. When Jack rushes to the city to confront his "brother," he's free to become Earnest and live a different lifestyle. In London, his best friend, Algernon, begins to suspect Earnest is leading a double life. Earnest confesses that his real name is Jack and admits the ruse has become tricky as two women have become enchanted

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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...

First performed in 1895, "An Ideal Husband" is Oscar Wilde's classic and much-loved comedic drama. The play tells the story of an up-and-coming politician, Sir Robert Chiltern, who tries to hide his secret past from his judgmental wife and the blackmail scheme he is forced to participate in to keep that secret quiet. Lady Chiltern has a very particular idea of what makes the "ideal husband" which leaves her with little tolerance for Sir Robert's all...

Salome is a tragic play written by Oscar Wilde, which tells the biblical story of Salome. Salome dances the Dance of the Seven Veils so well that she receives a boon from her stepfather Herod Antipas. Much to his dismay and her mother's delight she requests the head of John the Baptist on a silver platter. Though John is a favorite of Herod and under his protection, Herod cannot rescind his boon.

Wilde originally wrote the play in French,

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Oscar Wilde's emotionally raw manuscript details the inner turmoil surrounding his relationship with Lord Alfred Douglas following his controversial arrest and conviction for gross indecency It's an honest and intimate look at the author in his most vulnerable state. Oscar Wilde spent two years in prison from 1895 to 1897. It was during this time that he wrote a 50,000-word letter to his former lover and friend, Lord Alfred Douglas. Published under...

Wilde's second collection of fairy tales, originally published in 1891, following "The Happy Prince" in 1888. The volume includes "The Young King," "The Birthday of the Infanta," and "The Star-Child." While these stories are clearly intended for a younger audience, Wilde, with typical sardonic quip declared that the stories were "intended neither for the British child nor the British public."

Oscar Wilde presents a libertarian socialist view of the economic disparities caused by capitalism, that lead to futile acts of charity instead of definitive solutions. Wilde encourages an overhaul of the structures that allow such inequalities to exist. The Soul of Man Under Socialism is an insightful look into Wilde's personal and political beliefs. Within the essay, he emphasizes individualism over group think, using Jesus Christ as a prime example....