Here is Oscar Wilde's most brilliant tour de force, a witty and buoyant comedy of manners that has delighted millions in countless productions since its first performance in London's St. James' Theatre on February 14, 1895. The Importance of Being Earnest is celebrated not only for the lighthearted ingenuity of its plot, but for its inspired dialogue, rich with scintillating epigrams still savored by all who enjoy artful conversation.From the play's effervescent beginnings in...
A classic satire of Victorian society, Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest” is one of the author’s most frequently performed works. The story trivializes its characters, who through a series of deceptions pretend to be people that they are not in order to escape the burdensome demands of social conventions. When John Worthing visits his best friend Algernon Moncrieff, to whom he is known as Ernest, Algernon notices the curious inscription on his cigarette case which reads, “From...
"The Importance of Being Earnest," considered to be one of Oscar Wilde best plays, is a comedic satire of Victorian England. It is the story of Jack Worthing who lives in the country with his ward Cecily Cardew. Jack invents a brother named Ernest so that he has an excuse to travel to London to woo a woman, Gwendolen Fairfax. At the same time Jack's good friend, Algernon Moncrieff pretends to be Ernest so that he can woo Jack's ward, Cecily. A comedy of confusion is the result in...
Read & Co. Classics presents this brand new edition of Oscar Wilde's famous play, «The Importance of Being Earnest», first performed in London in 1895. The play questions the nature and purpose of the institution of marriage, poking fun at the morals, assumptions and constraints found in Victorian values. During the play’s release, Wilde’s social life was aired to the Victorian public after an altercation with his lover’s father, resulting in him being sent to prison for his homosexual...
"The Picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde. Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible...
Wilde's only novel, first published in 1890, is a brilliantly designed puzzle, intended to tease conventional minds with its exploration of the myriad interrelationships between art, life and consequence. From its provocative Preface, challenging the reader to belief in 'art for art's sake', to its sensational conclusion, the story self-consciously experiments with the notion of sin as an element of design. Yet Wilde himself underestimated the consequences of his experiment,...
Oscar Wilde’s only full-length novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray” was first published in 1890 and is the classic tale of the moral decline of its title character, Dorian Gray. While Dorian has his portrait painted by Basil Hallward he is lectured to by Lord Henry Wotton, who espouses a hedonistic world view. Dorian is drawn to Wotton’s belief that beauty and sensuality are the only things in life worth pursuing and wishes that he would stay young while his portrait changes instead. In the years...
"The Picture of Dorian Gray" is Oscar Wilde's classic tale of the moral decline of its title character, Dorian Gray. When Dorian has his portrait painted by Basil Hallward and wishes that he would stay young while his picture changes, his wish comes true. In exchange for this Dorian gives up his soul and as he ages the bad deeds that he commits are reflected in his painting and not him. «The Picture of Dorian Gray», arguably Wilde's most popular work, was considered quite...
Read & Co. Classics presents this brand new edition of Oscar Wilde's classic Gothic novel, «The Picture of Dorian Gray» (1890). Perhaps Wilde’s most famous and celebrated of works, the story follows a young man’s hedonistic journey through high society and the depths of depravity. Seduced by the spoils of greed, narcissism and lust, he pays a ghoulish price for his actions. Oscar Wilde (1884-1900) was an Irish author, playwright and poet. He moved from Dublin to Oxford where he studied...
Wilde's only novel, first published in 1890, is a brilliantly designed puzzle, intended to tease conventional minds with its exploration of the myriad interrelationships between art, life and consequence. From its provocative Preface, challenging the reader to belief in 'art for art's sake', to its sensational conclusion, the story self-consciously experiments with the notion of sin as an element of design. Yet Wilde himself underestimated the consequences of his experiment,...
The Picture of Dorian Gray is a Gothic and philosophical novel by Oscar Wilde, first published complete in the July 1890 issue of Lippincott's Monthly Magazine. Fearing the story was indecent, the magazine's editor deleted roughly five hundred words before publication without Wilde's knowledge. Despite that censorship, The Picture of Dorian Gray offended the moral sensibilities of British book reviewers, some of whom said that Oscar Wilde merited prosecution for violating the laws...
"The Picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde. Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible...