Lady Windermere's Fan: Starring Joanna Going, Roger Rees, and Eric Stoltz [UNABRIDGED] (Audio CD)

~ (Author, Editor), Joanna Going (Editor, Narrator), Roger Rees (Editor, Narrator), Eric Stoltz (Editor, Narrator), Miriam Margolyes (Narrator)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Dover goes Wilde with these two fine additions to its line of bargain titles. Lady Windermere is a typical Wilde farce; the latter volume is simply a collection of his best lines.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Review

Comedy of manners in four acts by Oscar Wilde, performed in 1892 and published the following year. Set in London, the play's action is put in motion by Lady Windermere's jealousy over her husband's interest in Mrs. Erlynne, a beautiful older woman with a mysterious past. Unknown to Lady Windermere, Mrs. Erlynne is really her divorced mother who, for the past 20 years, has been presumed dead. Lord Windermere is merely hoping to ease the older woman's reentrance into society, which she attempts under a pseudonym. In a fit of pique, Lady Windermere goes to the rooms of her ardent admirer, Lord Darlington. Mrs. Erlynne follows closely, saving her daughter from scandal by an act of generosity that ruins her own chances. -- The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: La Theatre Works; Unabridged edition (August 9, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580811957
• ISBN-13: 978-1580811958
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,277,937 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How can women survive in victorian society, May 22, 2003

By	Jacques COULARDEAU "A soul doctor, so to say" (OLLIERGUES France) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Lady Windermere's Fan (Dover Thrift Editions) (Paperback)

Oscar Wilde entirely dedicates this play to the exploration of the way a woman can be saved from destruction in this society of appearances. A woman was the victim of an imbroglio in the past and abandoned her daughter. This woman comes back and the daughter ignores her relation to her. She is brought back into societry by the daughter's husband who knows the truth but does not want his wife to know it. But there is some kind of malediction that flies over the heads of these women. The daughter nearly does the same mistake as her mother but she is saved by her mother who accepts to be tainted in her daughter's place. Bus Oscar Wilde must think there is some kind of reward for a good deed and all is well that ends well, and this play has a happy ending. In spite of all the melodramatic sentimentalese atmosphere, Oscar Wilde definitely explores in this play the great disadvantage of a woman in society. Men can do nearly all they want. Women are extremely limited and have to walk a very straight and narrow line. Oscar Wilde seems to be ahead of his time as for the fate of women: he seems to aspire for real equality for them, though he shows in all possible ways that this is impossible in his society.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University of Perpignan

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wildely Entertaining, July 10, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Lady Windermere's Fan (Dover Thrift Editions) (Paperback)

My first experience reading Oscar Wilde... and certainly not my last.

Wilde's sardonic wit and ineffable satire had me enchanted from page one. Wilde writes with devastatingly appealing witticisms, and with a style and cleverness matched by few other authors. It is said that he is one of the more oft-quoted authors in the English language, and I now understand why.

In addition to axioms and aphorisms of pure genius, the plot both captivates and surprises the reader. Lady Windermere discovers that her husband has been cheating on her, and a folly of misunderstandings and poor advice then unfolds; all the while satirizing society.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Oscar Wilde Masterpiece, April 6, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Lady Windermere's Fan (Dover Thrift Editions) (Paperback)

Women have a wonderful instinct about things. They can discover everything except the obvious. -- Oscar Wilde

The plot is about Lady Winderemere who goes from being a pillar of Victorian society to a woman of wandering morals. The woman who pulls her up is the one she suspected of being her husband's mistress. It's a comedy of society manners and morals with acerbic repartees and funny quips, in the great Oscar Wilde tradition.

Now, more than 100 years later, it still has a thought provoking depth which is very much applicable to today's society as well, although we view such adventures with less criticism and more understanding.

A wonderful comedy with all the wryness of Wilde.