Best Selling Books by Oscar Wilde

Wilde the writer is known to us from his plays and fiction, yet it was in his conversation that his genius reached its summit. His talk is lost, his autobiography was never written, but his letters reveal him at his best. Here, they are collected, together with a commentary and photographs.

More than 1,000 ripostes, paradoxes, wisecracks: "Work is the curse of the drinking classes," "I can resist everything except temptation," etc.

Oscar Fingal O''Flahertie Wills Wilde was born on the 16th October 1854 in Dublin Ireland. The son of Dublin intellectuals Oscar proved himself an outstanding classicist at Dublin, then at Oxford. With his education complete Wilde moved to London and its fashionable cultural and social circles. With his biting wit, flamboyant dress, and glittering conversation, Wilde became one of the most well-known personalities of his day. His only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray was published in 1890 and he then moved on to writing for the stage with Salome in 1891. His society comedies produced enormous hits and turned him into one of the most successful writers of late Victorian London. Whilst his masterpiece, The Importance of Being Earnest, was on stage in London, Wilde had the Marquess of Queensberry, the father of his lover, Lord Alfred Douglas, prosecuted for libel. The trial unearthed evidence that caused Wilde to drop his charges and led to his own arrest and trial for gross indecency. He was convicted and imprisoned for two years'' hard labour. It was to break him. On release he left for France, There he wrote his last work, The Ballad of Reading Gaol in 1898. He died destitute in Paris at the age of forty-six sipping champagne a friend had brought with the line ''Alas I am dying beyond my means''. Here we publish a collection of short stories that whilst generally known as stories for Children are equally at home in the imaginations of adults.

Dorian Gray is having his picture painted by Basil Hallward, who is charmed by his looks. But when Sir Henry Wotton visits and seduces Dorian into the worship of youthful beauty with an intoxicating speech, Dorian makes a wish he will live to regret: that all the marks of age will now be reflected in the portrait rather than on Dorian’s own face. The stage is now set for a masterful tale about appearance, reality, art, life, truth, fiction and the burden of conscience.

The Happy Prince and Other Tales (sometimes called The Happy Prince and Other Stories) is a collection of stories for children by Oscar Wilde first published in May 1888. It contains five stories, "The Happy Prince," "The Nightingale and the Rose," "The Selfish Giant," "The Devoted Friend," and "The Remarkable Rocket." It is most famous for its title story, "The Happy Prince." Oscar Fingal O''Flahertie Wills Wilde (October 16, 1854 - November 30, 1900) was an Irish playwright, novelist, poet, and short story writer. Known for his barbed wit, he was one of the most successful playwrights of late Victorian London, and one of the greatest celebrities of his day. As the result of a famous trial, he suffered a dramatic downfall and was imprisoned for two years of hard labour after being convicted of the offence of "gross indecency." The scholar H. Montgomery Hyde suggests this term implies homosexual acts not amounting to buggery in British legislation of the time. Source: Wikipedia

The Happy Prince and Other Tales is a collection of stories for children by Oscar Wilde first published in May 1888. It contains five stories.In a town where there are a lot of poor people who suffer, a swallow who was left behind after his flock flew off to Egypt for the wintmeets the statue of the late Happy Prince who in reality has never experienced true sorrow, for he lived in a palace where sorrow was not allowed to enter. Viewing various scenes of people suffering in poverty from his tall monument, the Happy Prince asks the swallow to take the ruby from his hilt, the sapphires from his eyes, and the gold leaf covering his body to give to the poor. As the winter comes and the Happy Prince is stripped of all of his beauty, his lead heart breaks when the swallow dies as a result of his selfless deeds and severe cold. The people, unaware of their good deeds, take the statue down from the pillar due to its shabbiness intending to replace it with one of the Mayor, and the metal melted in a furnace, leaving behind the broken heart and the dead swallow; they are thrown in a dust heap. These are taken up to heaven by an angel that has deemed them the two most precious things in the city. This is affirmed by God, and they live forever in his city of gold and garden of paradise.

This edition of Oscar Wilde''s The Importance of Being Earnest locates his writings within the broader cultural concerns of his day and examines Wilde''s aestheticism, his sexual politics, his socialist ideas, and his allegiances to Irish nationalism,

The Happy Prince and Other Stories (sometimes called The Happy Prince and Other Tales) is a collection of stories for children by Oscar Wilde first published in May 1888. It contains five classic stories. These are:: "The Happy Prince", "The Nightingale and the Rose", "The Selfish Giant", "The Devoted Friend", and "The Remarkable Rocket". Each tale is beautifully told and the book contains 12 full colour plates plus numerous BnW in text illustrations which add to the beauty of the stories. This book has proved so popular that a radio drama adaption was made by Columbia Workshop was broadcast on 26 December 1936. In 1941 Orson Welles and The Mercury Theatre broadcast a version on their "Christmas Show". Another radio version was broadcast in the Philco Radio Hall of Fame on 24 December 1944. This featured Orson Welles (narrator), Bing Crosby (as The Prince) and Lurene Tuttle as The Swallow. A record album called The Happy Prince was recorded and issued in 1946 by American Decca Records, with Orson Welles narrating and Bing Crosby as the Prince. In 1968 the Bee Gees publish the song "When the Swallows fly" with clear references to The Happy Prince tale. An animated film adaptation of the story was produced in 1974, starring Glynis Johns as the swallow and Christopher Plummer as the Prince. Adaptations have continued over the years, the most recent in 2019; Viki produced an adaption of the manga “Zattai Kareshi” by Yuu Watase. The show features numerous references to “The Happy Prince” even featuring a children''s story book of the tale. This no doubt not the end for this superb children’s book. 10% of the profit from this book will be donated to charities: =============== KEYWORDS/TAGS: The Happy Prince, Oscar wilde, Folklore, Fairy Tales, fables, childrens stories, childrens book, Nightingale and the Rose, Selfish Giant, Devoted, Friend, Remarkable, Rocket, King of the Mountains, Mountains of the Moon, Palace, Sans-Souci, Loveliest, Queen, Maids of Honour, Rich, Making Merry, Beautiful House, Beggars, Sitting, Gates, princess, Pass by, red rose, Lips, Sweet, Honey, Tree, Little Child, Little Boy, he had Loved, Green, Linnet, Hans, Garden, Russian Princess, sleigh, horses, Fireworks, King, prince, storyteller, storytelling,

In "The Picture of Dorian Gray", Oscar Wilde creates a tale of desire, temptation, and the dangers of living only for pleasure. Dorian Gray remains forever young, while his portrait grows old and twisted, reflecting every secret sin. Both a shocking novel of its age and a timeless warning about vanity and corruption, Wilde’s masterpiece continues to resonate today. Combining gothic suspense with sharp philosophical insight, it is a story that unsettles, provokes, and enthralls—an unforgettable classic of English literature. This is the English-language paperback edition with all 20 chapters of the 1891 print of "The Picture of Dorian Gray". Oscar Wilde. The Picture of Dorian Gray. First published in: Lippincott''s Monthly Magazine, 1890. First printed book edition: Ward Lock and Co, London, New York, Melbourne 1891. Neuausgabe, 1. Auflage, LIWI Literatur- und Wissenschaftsverlag, Göttingen 2025.

The Picture of Dorian Gray is the story of one beautiful, innocent young man''''s seduction, moral corruption, and eventual downfall. We meet our three central characters at the beginning of the book, when painter Basil Hallward and his close friend, Lord Henry Wotton, are discussing the subject of Basil''''s newest painting, a gorgeous young thing named Dorian Gray. Basil and Henry discuss just how perfectly perfect Dorian is--he''''s totally innocent and completely good, as well as being the most beautiful guy ever to walk the earth. Lord Henry wants to meet this mysterious boy, but Basil doesn''''t want him to; for some reason, he''''s afraid of what will happen to Dorian if Lord Henry digs his claws into him. However, Lord Henry gets his wish--Dorian shows up that very afternoon, and, over the course of the day, Henry manages to totally change Dorian''''s perspective on the world. From that point on, Dorian''''s previously innocent point of view is dramatically different--he begins to see life as Lord Henry does, as a succession of pleasures in which questions of good and evil are irrelevant. Basil finishes his portrait of Dorian, and gives it to the young man, who keeps it in his home, where he can admire his own beauty. Lord Henry continues to exert his influence over Dorian, to Basil''''s dismay. Dorian grows more and more distant from Basil, his former best friend, and develops his own interests. One of these interests is Sybil Vane, a young, exceptionally beautiful, exceptionally talented--and exceptionally poor--actress. Though she''''s stuck performing in a terrible, third-rate theatre, she''''s a truly remarkable artist, and her talent and beauty win over Dorian. He falls dramatically in love with her, and she with him. For a moment, it seems like everything will turn out wonderfully. However, this is just the beginning of Dorian''''s story. Once he and Sybil are engaged, her talent suddenly disappears--she''''s so overcome with her passionate love for Dorian that none of her roles on stage seem important to her anymore. This destroys Dorian''''s love for her, and he brutally dumps her. Back home, he notices a something different in his portrait--it looks somehow crueler. In the meanwhile, the distraught Sybil commits suicide, just as Dorian decides to return to her and take back his terrible words. Sybil''''s suicide changes everything. At first, Dorian feels horrible... but he rather quickly changes his tune. On Lord Henry''''s suggestion, Dorian reads a mysterious "yellow book," a decadent French novel that makes him reevaluate his whole belief system. The protagonist of the book lives his life in pursuit of sensual pleasures, which intrigues Dorian. From this moment on, Dorian is a changed man. Dorian starts to live as hedonistically as his wicked mentor, Lord Henry, does. The only thing that documents this turn for the worst is the portrait, which alarmingly begins to exhibit the inward corruption of Dorian''''s soul; the beautiful image changes, revealing new scars and physical flaws with each of Dorian''''s dastardly actions. As years pass, the man in the picture grows more and more hideous, as Dorian himself stays unnaturally young and beautiful. Rumors start to spread about the various people whose lives Dorian has ruined, and his formerly good reputation is destroyed. On Dorian''''s 38th birthday, he encounters Basil, who desperately asks his former friend if all the horrifying rumors about him are true. Dorian finally snaps and shows Basil the portrait, in which the horrible truth about his wicked nature is revealed. Basil recoils, and begs Dorian to pray for forgiveness. In response, Dorian murders Basil, stabbing him brutally. He blackmails another of his former friends into disposing of the body. Dorian retreats to an opium den after dealing with all of the evidence, where he encounters an enemy he didn''''t know he had--Sybil Vane''''s brother, James...

The Canterville Ghost is a novella parody featuring an ambassador and a spirit. The ambassador moves his family into a castle, which is known to be haunted. Oscar Wilde was a major celebrity in the late Victorian era. He was a playwright, novelist, poet, and short story writer. Wilde spent two years in a hard labor prison after being convicted of gross indecency.

The Happy and Other Tales, a collection of fairy tales that consists of the titular piece, "The Selfish Giant," "The Devoted Friend," "The Young King," "The Nightingale and the Rose," "The Fisherman and His Soul," "The Star-Child," "The Remarkable Rocket, and "The Birthday of the Infanta," was written by Oscar Wilde and first published in 1888. Wilde was notorious for promoting "art for art''s sake," but chose to write these tales in the didactic form of the fairy tale. This form allowed Wilde to explore themes of importance to him, such as homosexuality, morality, aestheticism, English socioeconomic realities, and more.