Oscar Wilde (1854-1900). British dramatist whose works and wit often attracted scandalized protest. Writings include: The Happy Prince, The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Importance of Being Earnest.

A biography of Oscar Wilde, this book offers a look at Wilde's rise and fall.

Oscar Wilde and Modern Culture: The Making of a Legend explores the meteoric rise, sudden fall, and legendary resurgence of an immensely influential writer’s reputation from his hectic 1881 American lecture tour to recent Hollywood adaptations of his dramas. Always renowned—if not notorious—for his fashionable persona, Wilde courted celebrity at an early age. Later, he came to prominence as one of the most talented essayists and fiction writers of his time. In the years leading up to his two-year imprisonment, Wilde stood among the foremost dramatists in London. But after he was sent down for committing acts of “gross indecency” it seemed likely that social embarrassment would inflict irreparable damage to his legacy. As this volume shows, Wilde died in comparative obscurity. Little could he have realized that in five years his name would come back into popular circulation thanks to the success of Richard Strauss’s opera Salome and Robert Ross’s edition of De Profundi. With each succeeding decade, the twentieth century continued to honor Wilde’s name by keeping his plays in repertory, producing dramas about his life, adapting his works for film, and devising countless biographical and critical studies of his writings. This volume reveals why, more than a hundred years after his demise, Wilde’s value in the academic world, the auction house, and the entertainment industry stands higher than that of any modern writer.

As the first collection of essays about Oscar Wilde's comedies, the contributors re-evaluate Oscar Wilde's society plays as 'comedies of manners" to see whether this is actually an apt way to read Wilde's most emblematic plays. Focusing on both the context and the texts, the collection locates Wilde both in his social and literary contexts.

This book explores Wilde's works from the hypothesis that they call upon the active participation of the reader in the production of meaning. It has a twofold objective: first, it shows that Wilde's emphasis on the creative role of the audience in his critical writings makes him conceive the reader as a co-creator in the construction of meaning. Second, it analyses the strategies which Wilde employs to impel the reader to collaborate in the creation of meaning of his literary works and casts light upon the social criticism derived from these. The examination of Wilde’s writings reveals how he gradually combined more sophisticated techniques that encouraged the reader's dynamic role with the progressive exploitation of self-advertising strategies for professional purposes. These allowed the ‘commercial’ Oscar to make his works successful among the Victorian public without betraying the ‘literary’ Wilde’s aesthetic principles. The present study re-evaluates Wilde as a critic and as a writer. It demonstrates that, while Wilde the ‘myth’ was ahead of his time in many ways, Wilde the ‘ARTIST’ anticipated in his aesthetic theory various themes which occupy contemporary literary theoreticians. Thus, it may contribute to give him the status he rightly deserves in the history of literature.

Play 1: Indulge in the wit and social satire of Oscar Wilde with “An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde.” Wilde's play explores the themes of morality, political intrigue, and the complexities of human relationships. Filled with sparkling dialogue and clever repartee, this comedy of manners reflects Wilde's keen observations of the societal norms and values of his time. Prose Work 2: Plummet into the depths of Oscar Wilde's introspection with “De Profundis by Oscar Wilde.” Written during Wilde's imprisonment, this extended letter to his former lover provides a poignant and introspective exploration of his life, suffering, and spiritual growth. It stands as a powerful testament to Wilde's resilience and his reflections on the human spirit. Novel 3: Delve into the dark and decadent world of “The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde.” Oscar Wilde's only novel is a Faustian tale of a young man who remains eternally youthful while a portrait of him ages and bears the marks of his moral degradation. This Gothic masterpiece explores the consequences of hedonism, the nature of beauty, and the price of eternal youth.

DigiCat presents to you this unique and meticulously edited Oscar Wilde collection: Plays: Vera The Duchess of Padua Lady Windermere's Fan A Woman of No Importance Salomé Salome (English Version) An Ideal Husband The Importance of Being Earnest La Sainte Courtisane A Florentine Tragedy For Love of the King Novel: The Picture of Dorian Gray (The Original Version) The Picture of Dorian Gray (The Revised 20 Chapter Version) Short Stories: The Portrait of Mr. W. H. The Happy Prince and Other Tales: The Happy Prince The Nightingale and the Rose The Devoted Friend The Selfish Giant The Remarkable Rocket A House of Pomegranates: The Young King The Birthday of the Infanta The Fisherman and His Soul The Star-Child Lord Arthur Savile's Crime and Other Stories: Lord Arthur Savile's Crime The Canterville Ghost The Sphinx Without a Secret The Model Millionaire Poetry: Ravenna Hélas! Eleutheria Sonnet to Liberty Ave Imperatrix Louis Napoleon. Quantum Mutata Libertatis Sacra Fames Theoretikos The Garden of Eros Rosa Mystica The Burden of Itys Wind Flowers Impression du Matin Magdalen Walks Athanasia Serenade Endymion La Bella Donna della Mia Mente Chanson Charmides Flowers of Gold The Sphinx The Ballad of Reading Gaol... Essays & Lectures: Intentions The Decay of Lying The Critic as Artist Pen, Pencil, and Poison The Truth of Masks The Rise of Historical Criticism The English Renaissance of Art House Decoration Art and the Handicraftsman Lecture to Art Students London Models Poems in Prose The Soul of Man under Socialism Phrases and Philosophies for the Use of the Young A Few Maxims for the Instruction of the Over-Educated De Profundis Impressions of America... Literary Reviews: Dinners and Dishes A Modern Epic Shakespeare on Scenery A Bevy of Poets Parnassus versus Philology... Other Works: Aphorisms Des Grieux (Prelude to Teleny) Teleny Letters: Letters to the Daily Chronicle Children in Prison and Other Cruelties of Prison Life Letters on Dorian Gray Letters to Robert Ross Oscar Wilde, His life and Confessions – Biography by Frank Harris

First published in 1916, this volume contains the first volume of Frank Harris's biography “Oscar Wilde - His Life and Confessions”. An acquaintance of Wilde's, Harris attempts in this biography to do justice to his old friend whom he had helped throughout the controversy and his trial, twenty years previous. Contents include: “Oscar's Father And Mother On Trial”, “Oscar Wilde As A Schoolboy”, “Trinity, Dublin: Magdalen, Oxford”, “Formative Influences: Oscar's Poems”, “Oscar's Quarrel With Whistler”, “And Marriage”, “Oscar Wilde's Faith And Practice”, “Oscar's Reputation And Supporters”, “Oscar's Growth To Originality About 1890”, etc. Frank Harris (1855–1931) was an Irish-American novelist, editor, journalist, publisher, and short story writer who had acquaintances with many famous people of his day. Other notable works by this author include: “The Man Shakespeare and his Tragic Life Story” (1909), “The Yellow Ticket And Other Stories” (1914), and “Contemporary Portraits” (1915–1923).

A graphic novel adaptation of Wilde's famous fairy tale combines illustrations with the story of a deceased prince whose spirit inhabits a gold-leaf statue in a city where he is compelled to help impoverished and desperate citizens.