The Importance of Being Earnest (Paperback)

~ (Author) "ALGERNON: Did you hear what I was playing, Lane?..." (more)
Key Phrases: severe chill, been christened, Aunt Augusta, Miss Fairfax, Miss Cardew (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This Prestwick House Literary Touchstone Edition includes a glossary and reader's notes to help the modern reader appreciate Wilde's wry wit and elaborate plot twists.

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 beloved's pandemonium breaks loose.

Only a senile nursemaid and an old, discarded hand-bag can save the day!

From the Publisher

This book is perfect for AP classes and is often selected for inclusion on the AP exam. The notes, reading pointers, and vocabulary in this addition will also help students at a lower reading level get the most out of these classics.

Product Details

• Paperback: 76 pages
• Publisher: Prestwick House Inc. (January 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 158049580X
• ISBN-13: 978-1580495806
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #7,015 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #2 in	Books > Literature & Fiction > Authors, A-Z > ( W ) > Wilde, Oscar
  #21 in	Books > Literature & Fiction > Drama > British & Irish

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wilde's wittiest, July 14, 2005

By	James Hiller (Beaverton, OR) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

One thing happens when you read Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest"; you are amazed to remember that this play was authored over 100 years ago. For most plays of that era, the average reader tends to lose references and it tends to be stodgy and irrelevant. Not so Earnest, due to the brilliance and imagination of it's playwright.

The Importance of Being Earnest is a tour de force of comedy, misidentifications, and farce. Algernon and Jack are friends, and each has invented an imaginary person as an excuse of getting out of engagements. Jack's person is Ernest, a brother with a wild past. The two conspire to woo the ladies that they love, and through a series of happenstances, must gently deceive to get want they want. The end result is a play of uncomperable quality, chock full of witticisms that are highly quotable out of context. In fact, I dare suggest the entire play is quotable, such its brilliance.

Wilde pulled no punches when writing Earnest. Often, when a play is filled with memorable quotes, it takes away from the realism of the scenes because the characters then become merely conduits for the writer's intellect. Not so in Earnest. Wilde manages to make the characters say exactly what they would say in each situation, true to their persona. That alone is quite an accomplishment, one not often seen.

Misidentities, witty banter, love, all conspire to one of English's most brilliant comedies ever to have seen the stage. We should be so lucky the world had Oscar Wilde in it, and even more so, that he wrote at all.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great version of the Classic Play, October 16, 2005

By	T. Kaufmann (USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The Importance of Being Earnest is a fantastic play. It is an easy read, and is not only well thought out, but hilarious.

I liked this book of the play especially, because it includes helpful notes in the beginning, but more because it has a glossary of difficult terms in the back. Every time I came to a word that I did not know, it was sure to be defined in the back.

If you love theatre, this is a great play to read. I would highly suggest this book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Importance of Laughter, March 17, 2009

By	R. Nielsen (Riverton, Utah) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"Truth is beautiful, without doubt; but so are lies." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

I didn't know anything about this play going in to it. After reading the first few pages it became evident pretty quickly that this was a comedy, and a pretty good one at that. There is a lot of witty banter and snide remarks throughout that make you laugh out loud. I imagine this is even funnier on the stage with the actors' body language, etc.

The play demonstrates how a couple of lies can culminate into a huge quandary. You can see the train wreck coming and the anticipation builds until the train finally comes off it's tracks at the satisfying collision ... I mean culmination.

The version of the book I read is full of footnotes that includes changes that have occured in the play over the years and other pertinent information to the play. There is one footnote that I found particularly interesting; it says, Franklin Dyall, who played Merriman (in the play) recalled the effect of one of his lines on the first night, "This [announcement] was received with the loudest and most sustained laugh that I have ever experienced, culminating in a round of applause; and as I came off Wilde said to me: 'I'm so glad you got that laugh. It shows they have followed the plot.'" Imagine watching your play being acted out for the first time. It must be nerve-wracking to sit there hoping that people will like it and appreciate it. It must also be extremely satisfying to see and hear the positive reactions.

My wife noticed what I was reading and told me she had seen the movie and that it starred Rupert Everett as Algernon. I can't think of a more apt actor for that role. I will have to check it out.