815 10 1 1803 Oscar Wilde http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41QV1CH6Q4L._SX80_.jpg 8 Oscar Wilde brings his enormous gifts for astute social observation and sparkling prose to The Picture of Dorian Gray, his dreamlike story of a young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty. This dandy, who remains forever unchanged—petulant, hedonistic, vain, and amoral—while a painting of him ages and grows increasingly hideous with the years, has been horrifying, enchanting, obsessing, even corrupting readers for more than a hundred years. Taking the reader in and out of London drawing rooms, to the heights of aestheticism, and to the depths of decadence, The Picture of Dorian Gray is not only a melodrama about moral corruption. Laced with bon mots and vivid depictions of upper-class refinement, it is also a fascinating look at the milieu of Wilde’s fin-de-siècle world and a manifesto of the creed “Art for Art’s Sake.” The ever-quotable Wilde, who once delighted London with his scintillating plays, scandalized readers with this, his only novel. Upon publication, Dorian was condemned as dangerous, poisonous, stupid, vulgar, and immoral, and Wilde as a “driveling pedant.” The novel, in fact, was used against Wilde at his much-publicized trials for “gross indecency,” which led to his imprisonment and exile on the European continent. Even so, The Picture of Dorian Gray firmly established Wilde as one of the great voices of the Aesthetic movement, and endures as a classic that is as timeless as its hero. Dorian Gray – decadent archetype, anti-hero of Oscar Wilde’s only novel, an underground classic which scandalized society upon its publication in 1890. Dorian Gray, the debauched libertine who retains a veneer of eternal youth during decades of increasingly outlandish vice, depravity and corruption, while his portrait ages and rots in an attic. THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY is presented here in its rare original incarnation, the overtly homoerotic Lippincott edition, with an appendix sampling Wilde’s later revisions. Also included is a brilliant introduction by Jeremy Reed, detailing the two editions and realigning the book’s position in the history of subversive underground fiction. With its outré elements of homosexuality, drug abuse and supernatural horror, DORIAN GRAY remains Wilde’s most extreme creation, whilst also containing many of the mordant epigrams for which he is most renowned. It is a true classic of renegade literature. 5029 662 Oscar Wilde http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51pzyLqXMKL._SX80_.jpg 8 Oscar Wilde's madcap farce about mistaken identities, secret engagements, and lovers' entanglements still delights readers more than a century after its 1895 publication and premiere performance. The rapid-fire wit and eccentric characters of The Importance of Being Earnest have made it a mainstay of the high school curriculum for decades. Cecily Cardew and Gwendolen Fairfax are both in love with the same mythical suitor. Jack Worthing has wooed Gewndolen as Ernest while Algernon has also posed as Ernest to win the heart of Jack's ward, Cecily. When all four arrive at Jack's country home on the same weekend—the "rivals" to fight for Ernest's undivided attention and the "Ernests" to claim their beloveds—pandemonium breaks loose. Only a senile nursemaid and an old, discarded hand-bag can save the day! 1440 14661 Oscar Wilde http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ZS511WWQL._SX80_.jpg 8 Preparing the way for Wilde's master-piece The Importance of Being Earnest, An Ideal Husband is as strong on repartee as on melodrama - in this case not the theme of 'woman-with-a-past' but of political corruption. Sir Robert Chiltern, a rising star in political circles, finds himself confronted by the worldly-wise Mrs Cheveley, who holds evidence of the only financial indiscretion he ever committed. He will receive the incriminating note in return for his vote in an upcoming division in the House of Commons. Urged by his idealistic wife to resist the blackmailer, Chiltern turns for help to his debonair friend Lord Goring, who, with the help of farcical accident, saves appearances and thus saves the day. T\ 118 4044 Oscar Wilde http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51A88HfXN7L._SX80_.jpg 9 A unique one-volume anthology which includes all of Wilde's stories, plays, and poems. It also features a large portion of his essays and letters and an introduction by Wilde's son, Vyvyan Holland. 116 430786 Oscar Wilde http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41jo-EiV1mL._SX80_.jpg 8 Lady Windermere's Fan is a comedy by Oscar Wilde, originally produced as a play at London's St. James Theatre in 1892. Lady Windermere's Fan is a satire about marriage and morals in Victorian society and is about a woman who discovers that her husband is having an affair. Lady Windermere finds that her husband has invited his lover, Mrs. Erlynne, to his wifes birthday ball. Lady Windermere decides to leave her husband for another, but is persuaded by Mrs. Erlynne to get back with her husband and save the marriage. This is an excellent publication for those who are fans of the writings of Oscar Wilde and those who are interested in works dealing with Victorian society. 83 119576 Oscar Wilde http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/510ZqIxaGtL._SX80_.jpg 9 The Complete Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde includes the two definitive story collections The Happy Prince and Other Tales (1888) and A House of Pomegranates (1891). This volume collects exquisite and poignant tales of true beauty, selfless love, generosity, loyalty, brilliant wit, and moral aestheticism, such as "The Birthday of the Infanta," "The Selfish Giant," The Nightingale and the Rose," and "The Happy Prince," among others. A true classic of wonder for all ages. 99 234560 Oscar Wilde http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51BE657R7HL._SX80_.jpg 8 An American family moves into Canterville Chase, rumored to be a haunted house. But the skeptical Americans do not believe in ghosts--not, that is, until their daughter Virginia disappears after a series of uncanny incidents. Full color. 107 65185 Oscar Wilde http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Q70Z6RWWL._SX80_.jpg 7 Written originally in French in 1892, Wilde's one-act tragedy Salome enacts the biblical tale of a wanton woman's erotic dance and the martyrdom of John the Baptist. 71 35226 Oscar Wilde http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41635ASY53L._SX80_.jpg 9 In print since 1948, this is a single-volume collection of Oscar Wilde's texts. It contains his only novel, "The Portrait of Dorian Gray" as well as his plays, stories, poems, essays and letters. Illustrated with many photographs, the book includes introductions to each section by Wilde's grandon, Merlin Holoand, Owen Dudley Edwards, Declan Kibertd and Terence Brown. A comprehensive bibliography of works by and about Oscar Wilde together with a chronological table of his life and work are also included. 73 11160 Oscar Wilde http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31vlhPGTG7L._SX80_.jpg 8 The scene is set in an English country house â€" Hunstanton (Lady Hunstanton's property). The curtains open to the terrace where we are introduced to Lady Caroline who is engaging in conversation with Lady Huntstanton's American Puritan guest Hester Worsley. Other characters are introduced, including the flirtatious Mrs Allonby, the meek Lady Stutfield and Lady Caroline's submissive husband Sir John. They discuss frivolous matters and are later joined by the powerful, charming and charismatic gentleman, Lord Illingworth who has offered the post of secretary to the fortunate Gerald Arbuthnot. Gerald's mother is invited to join the party, and when she arrives she realises that Lord Illingworth is Gerald's father. She had an affair with him twenty years ago, became pregnant and he refused to marry her, making her a "fallen woman." She is reluctant to let Gerald become Illingworth's secretary, but doesn't tell Gerald her reasons behind her reluctance... 30