Plays of Oscar Wilde

With an Introduction and Notes by Anne Varty, Royal Holloway, University of London Oscar Wilde took London by storm with his first comedy, ‘Lady Windermere’s Fan’. The combination of dazzling wit, subtle social criticism, sumptuous settings and the theme of a guilty secret proved a winner, both here and in his next three plays, ‘A Woman of No Importance’, ‘An Ideal Husband’, and his undisputed masterpiece, ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’. This volume includes all Wilde’s plays from his early tragedy ‘Vera’ to the controversial ‘Salome’ and the little known fragments, ‘La Sainte Courtisane’ and ‘A Florentine Tragedy’. The edition affords a rare chance to see Wilde’s best known work in the context of his entire dramatic output, and to appreciate plays which have hitherto received scant critical attention. Wilde’s plays have never failed to delight audiences and are a lasting testimony to their author’s supreme wit and theatrical genius. AUTHOR: “I have put my genius into my life, all I have put into my works is my talents”. In many ways, the written works of Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) are overshadowed by the drama of his life, and the incandescence of his personality, but they should not be undervalued. Whether it is the wit of his plays, the intriguing premise of his only novel, ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’, the sporadic brilliance of his poetry or the delightful charm of his children’s stories, not just the talent but the genius of the man shines through.