An innovative new edition of nine classic short stories from one of the greatest writers of the Victorian era. “I cannot think other than in stories,” Oscar Wilde once confessed to his friend André Gide. In this new selection of his short fiction, Wilde’s gifts as a storyteller are on full display, accompanied by informative facing-page annotations from Wilde biographer and scholar Nicholas Frankel. A wide-ranging introduction brings readers into the world from which the author drew inspiration. Each story in the collection brims with Wilde’s trademark wit, style, and sharp social criticism. Many are reputed to have been written for children, although Wilde insisted this was not true and that his stories would appeal to all “those who have kept the childlike faculties of wonder and joy.” “Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime” stands alongside Wilde’s comic masterpiece The Importance of Being Earnest, while other stories—including “The Happy Prince,” the tale of a young ruler who had never known sorrow, and “The Nightingale and the Rose,” the story of a nightingale who sacrifices herself for true love—embrace the theme of tragic, forbidden love and are driven by an undercurrent of seriousness, even despair, at the repressive social and sexual values of Wilde’s day. Like his later writings, Wilde’s stories are a sweeping indictment of the society that would imprison him for his homosexuality in 1895, five years before his death at the age of forty-six. Published here in the form in which Victorian readers first encountered them, Wilde’s short stories contain much that appeals to modern readers of vastly different ages and temperaments. They are the perfect distillation of one of the Victorian era’s most remarkable writers.

Oscar Wilde was an Irish poet and playwright. Known for his acclaimed works including The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Importance of Being Earnest, as well as his brilliant wit, flamboyant style and infamous imprisonment for homosexuality. This selection specially chosen by the literary critic August Nemo, contains the following stories: Lord Arthur Savile's Crime The Sphinx without a Secret A Model Millionaire The Happy Prince The Fisherman and his Soul The Nightingale and the Rose The Young King

Oscar Wilde's two collections of children's literature, The Happy Prince and Other Stories (1888) and A House of Pomegranates (1891), have often been relegated to the margins in studies of his work. In this, the first full-length study of Wilde's fairy tales, Jarlath Killeen resituates the collections in a complex nexus of theological, political, social, and national concerns and restores the tales to their proper place in the Wilde canon.

“Unless one is wealthy there is no use in being a charming fellow. Romance is the privilege of the rich, not the profession of the unemployed. The poor should be practical and prosaic. It is better to have a permanent income than to be fascinating. These are the great truths of modern life….”

'Wilde did not converse - he told tales.' Oscar Wilde was already famous as a brilliant wit and raconteur when he first began to publish his short stories in the late 1880s. They have never lacked readers and admirers, George Orwell and W. B. Yeats among them. The stories give free rein to Wilde's originality, literary skill, and sophistication. They include poignant fairy-tales such as 'The Happy Prince' and 'The Selfish Giant', and the extravagant comedy and social observation of 'Lord Arthur Savile's Crime' and 'The Canterville Ghost'. They also encompass the daring narrative experiments of 'The Portrait of Mr. W. H.', Wilde's fictional investigation into the identity of the dedicatee of Shakespeare's sonnets, and the 'Poems in Prose', based on the Gospel stories. This edition demonstrates the centrality of Wilde's shorter fiction in his literary career, and his continuing development and experimentation with the short story format. Combining myth, romance, and irony, Wilde's stories enthral and challenge the reader. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Details the life of Oscar Wilde, including his work as an author, his fascination with Catholicism, and his time in prison for a homosexual affair.

The British and Irish Short Story Handbook guides readers through the development of the short story and the unique critical issues involved in discussions of short fiction. It includes a wide-ranging analysis of non-canonical and non-realist writers as well as the major authors and their works, providing a comprehensive and much-needed appraisal of this area. Guides readers through the development of the short story and critical issues involved in discussions of short fiction Offers a detailed discussion of the range of genres in the British and Irish short story Includes extensive analysis of non-canonical writers, such as Hubert Crackanthorpe, Ella D’Arcy, T.F. Powys, A.E. Coppard, Julian Maclaren-Ross, Mollie Panter-Downes, Denton Welch, and Sylvia Townsend Warner Provide a wide-ranging discussion of non-realist and experimental short stories Includes a large section on the British short story in the Second World War

Following the great success of 2015's Gothic Fantasy, deluxe edition short story compilations, Ghosts, Horror and Science Fiction, this latest in the series is packed with hard-boiled detectives, monsters, psychopaths and a high body count. Tales of death and destruction from classic authors are cast with previously unpublished stories by exciting contemporary hardcore crime writers. New, contemporary and notable writers featured are: Sara Dobie Bauer, Michael Cebula, Carolyn Charron, James Dorr, Tim Foley, Steven Thor Gunnin, Kate Heartfield, David M. Hoenig, Liam Hogan, Patrick J. Hurley, Michelle Ann King, Claude Lalumière, Gerri Leen, K.A. Mielke, Alexandra Camille Renwick, Fred Senese, Donald Jacob Uitvlugt, Dean H. Wild, and Nemma Wollenfang. These appear alongside classic stories by authors such as Ambrose Bierce, Wilkie Collins, Dick Donovan, Edith Nesbit, Edgar Allan Poe and Bram Stoker.