Customer Reviews

The Portable Oscar Wilde (Viking Portable Library)

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This edition of Oscar Wilde's work - in addition to its inclusion of much personal correspondence - is a fascinating look at the author and, notably, his personal travails.

The novel, of course, and the plays are classics, but I found the letters to be a juicy narrative all their own. The twists and turns of his doomed affair with Lord Alfred Douglas, affectionately called "Bosie" in touching - and bitter - love notes from prison, are here to peruse. Reading them, you get a sense of Wilde's personal feelings at the time of his famed trial and arrest for sodomy, his anguish at losing Bosie and going to jail. It's fascinating, juicy stuff - made all the more touching by the fact that it all occurred without shame, in plain view, over 100 years ago.

Wilde's a great character, a great author, a good role model for gay life and a hysterical wit. And this book is a must.

Edited by Richard Aldington. Stories include the picture of dorian gray, salome, the importance of being earnest, de profundis, many poems and the selfish giant.

For the reader who has never experienced Oscar Wilde's work before, this collection serves as a fabulous in-depth introduction. Included are Wilde's most well-known works, including "The Picture of Dorian Gray" and "The Importance of Being Earnest." Both are absolutely superb pieces of literature. Also included are a fascinating letter written by Wilde while in prison, an essay on art and criticism, poetry, and personal letters and anecdotes. Serious students of Wilde might want to considering reading a more complete collection, but for a casual fan of classic literature, it's hard to beat this selection. Oscar Wilde should definitely be read by anyone who appreciates a sharp wit and profound intellect.

Oscar Wilde was a master of prose. No student of English literature should ignore him; they might not agree with him on a thousand things (even Wilde felt it was perfectly acceptable for him to disagree with himself) but his wit, his humor, and most importantly his love of beautiful things, must not be tossed aside. Wilde was a genius and a master of the English word.