The Importance of Being Earnest: Oscar Wilde: 8601410462789: Amazon.com: Books

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The Importance of Being Earnest Paperback – Illustrated, August 27, 2012

by Oscar Wilde (Author)

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<DIV>Oscar Wilde was at once a family man and a homosexual outsider, a socialite, socialist, and Irish nationalist. His contradictions inspired him to ponder the roles and masks donned in conventional society, and his acute and wry insights are wonderfully displayed in this collection of his essential plays. Known not only for his brilliant, epigrammatic language, but also for his sense of theatrical design, color, and staging, Wilde created an enduring body of finely crafted works, whose delights and ironies still speak to modern audiences. In addition to Lady Windermere's Fan, Salomé, A Woman of No Importance, An Ideal Husband, A Florentine Tragedy, and The Importance of Being Earnest, this edition contains an introduction, notes and commentaries, and an excised scene from The Importance of Being Earnest. </div>

Print length

156 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Simon & Brown
Publication date

August 27, 2012
Dimensions

6 x 0.36 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

1613822189
ISBN-13

978-1613822180
Lexile measure

NP0L
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"In short, there is material aplenty here for the average reader and considerable matter for the specialist." --English Literature in Transition 1880-1920

About the Author

Born in Ireland, Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (1854-1900) was educated in Dublin & Oxford and went on to become the leading and most prominent exponent of flamboyant aestheticism. As well as his many plays, he wrote one novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890), and published several volumes of poetry and criticism. He was imprisoned in 1895 for homosexual offences and after his release he died in exile in Paris. Richard Cave has edited a selection of Yeats' plays for Penguin Classics.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Brown; 0 edition (August 27, 2012)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 156 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1613822189
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1613822180
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ NP0L
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8.4 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.36 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #3,028,929 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,386 in Comedic Dramas & Plays
- #3,469 in British & Irish Dramas & Plays
- #121,775 in Literary Fiction (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4,067 ratings

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Oscar Wilde
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Oscar Fingall O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was born in Dublin in 1854. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin and Magdalen College, Oxford where, a disciple of Pater, he founded an aesthetic cult. In 1884 he married Constance Lloyd, and his two sons were born in 1885 and 1886.
His novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891), and social comedies Lady Windermere's Fan (1892), A Woman of No Importance (1893), An Ideal Husband (1895), and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895), established his reputation. In 1895, following his libel action against the Marquess of Queesberry, Wilde was sentenced to two years' imprisonment for homosexual conduct, as a result of which he wrote The Ballad of Reading Gaol (1898), and his confessional letter De Profundis (1905). On his release from prison in 1897 he lived in obscurity in Europe, and died in Paris in 1900.
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Trevor Millum
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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5

4,067 global ratings

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Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2023

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I’ve never read an Oscar Wilde book before but saw that it was a light read- kept me entertained from the beginning until the end! Loved it

Albert Einstein

Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2023

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I only gave it four stars because I actually haven’t begun reading it lol. But it came in great condition. The words are large enough and it’s easy to handle. My parents are fond of the classics and period films, and they recommended this book to me. Charles Dickens is a harder author to comprehend, so keep that in mind when purchasing.

One person found this helpful

DareDevil M-Seven

Historical Document about Slavery

Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2022

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An excellent story eloquently narrated by the author on his remarkable and challenging life. I found it was a better read at a chapter or 2 a day because of the style of writing in that era. As historical texts go it was a good read. Offers remarkable insight into African culture of that time, and what it was like to be captured and enslaved against one's will at such a young age.
This was a very interesting book they gave a perspective of what it was like to be a slave in the 17th/18th century.

From literally being stolen from his country to learning other skills, Olaudah Equiano’s hope in the midst of an absolutely dire and disgusting situation is commendable.

One insight that I had was realizing that from day to day even the freed slaves lives were tenuous. Nasty, disgusting people were willing to re-enslave them for greed.

It reads a little rough at times but it’s a book that I think all people should read and be aware of.

2 people found this helpful

Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2023

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This book was Bussin no cap on my twisty. On g man this book for the real ones on g

One person found this helpful

Kate Stefanelli

Reviewed in the United States on December 25, 2022

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Got this for an English assignment, it came on time and not damaged. Perfect for the price I paid.

If humour comes in a spectrum and slapstick is at one end of that spectrum, then this is the other end.

Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2016

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It would be all too easy to dismiss this play as a light romantic comedy. Although it is about a series of near thwarted romances – the stuff of a million ‘chick-flicks’ and romantic comedies going back as far as the eye can see in drama – this is also something much, much more. It is also a delightfully amusing commentary on human sexual relations, the English class system and (much more importantly) a perfect mirror on the amusing excesses of human selfishness. In fact, some of the best lines in the play, and the funniest lines in the play, highlight our near infinite capacity to love ourselves. To quote only a few and without hardly looking:

“If you are not too long, I will wait for you all my life.”

“Oh! Not at all, Gwendolen. I am very fond of being looked at.”

“If I am occasionally overdressed, I make up for it by being always immensely over-educated.”

“I don’t play accurately – anyone can play accurately – but I play with wonderful expression.”

“You see, it (her diary) is simply a very young girl’s record of her thoughts and impressions, and consequently meant for publication.”

The other terribly interesting thing in this play is the role of family. Not only are the families quite dysfunctional, even when people know who their parents are, but the title character is about as confused about how he fits into the complex world of family relations as it is possible to make someone. The thing that makes the line about the handbag quite so funny is that this handbag is about the closest thing he has to family in the entire world. As Pascal once said, we laugh and cry about the same things.

Wilde is, it hardly needs to be said, the closest thing to a God we are likely to have visit us on this planet. There are, for example, even now, more than 100 years after his death, entire companies that produce desk calendars that would not be in business if not for the endless supply of quotes he provides for the foot of Monday the Ninth of February and so on.

If humour comes in a spectrum and slapstick is at one end of that spectrum, then this is the other end.

14 people found this helpful

An in-depth presentation of the funniest play ever written

Reviewed in the United States on October 6, 2008

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Oscar Wilde made his initial reputation as the master of the epigram: the trenchant and mordant, roughly haiku length flashes of insight into the comic absurdity of the world. No one in English Literature before or since has ever displayed such an effortless mastery of wit. "All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That's his."

The Importance of Being Earnest not only flaunts Wilde's most inconsequential plot, it is also crammed with his funniest epigrams and wittiest bon mots. This 1895 three-act comedic tour-de-force was an immediate hit in London. The comic word-play was a sensation amongst audiences who flocked to see this brilliant manifestation of Wilde's epicene witticisms. Here was a glittering example of London's avant-garde in the 1890's. Much like the play Hair in the 1960's, it was a signature of the times that no self-respecting sophisticate could miss. Wilde enjoyed himself immensely during this apex of his fame. Unfortunately, his reputation was quickly eclipsed by the scandal that engulfed him and his work. It took several decades for that reputation to be rehabilitated. The Importance of Being Earnest seemed to float above the scandals, never losing its popularity and acquiring a theatrical life of its own as an absolutely iconic work.

This Norton Critical Edition contains an annotated version of the play as well as several brilliantly incisive articles. A few of the analysts engage in some scholarly hand-waving, trying to attribute a social commentary and literary symbolism to the play that may not exist. Some of it is quite funny, in fact. I can't help but think that Wilde would appreciate the irony of one critic portraying his comic depiction of the frequently agitated butler Lane as an assault on the English class system. Other articles are quite helpful, however. The essay by Camille Paglia is especially insightful with her brilliant analysis of Wilde's dramatic projection of an ambiguous sexual persona. It is a rare comic play that merits its own Norton Critical Edition. This is one of the few. If you love this play (and the hilarious 1951 Anthony Asquith film) as much as I do, this is the edition to have. Most strongly recommended.

Mike Birman

11 people found this helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Elaine Fairfield

LOVE this; one of

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 19, 2021

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This is one of my all-time FAVOURITES! 🙌🏼 I’ve read this about five times since I discovered it (about five years ago), and I love it more and more each time I read it. The film is good too, but not as good as the book 😉

Initially I chose to read it because it was a classic, and because it was short 😂🤫 The reviews also said it was funny, but I couldn’t imagine a stuffy old play could be funny.

I’ve since realised they can be (so can a couple of Shakespeare plays too, but gone are the days when I’ll read a Shakespeare play; I prefer to watch them), and this one is as far from stuffy as a classic can get. The comedy is on point! So funny. I actually got my dad and a couple of others to read this too and they also loved it.

Worth a read (or a watch if reading it seems a bit too much for you - it’s an all-star cast!). You might just love it as much as I do

2 people found this helpful

jacw2000

A Treat

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 8, 2021

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A freebie on the Kindle, presumably to tempt me to buy the other books. Somewhere on a bookshelf I have The Complete Works, so I'm unlikely to spend actual money on Mr Wilde's stuff. But I tend to read on the Kindle these days so it's nice to pick up a freebie

Does anyone not know Oscar? Go and get this, it's a treat.

One person found this helpful

Amazon Customer

My favorite play of all

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 8, 2010

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Short, sweet, beautifully written and full of punchlines that stick into the mind, Oscar Wilde's greatest work is a living example of quality, rather than quantity. 65-odd pages are all Wilde needs to ensnare and capture a reader into the upper class society of his day and all of their ludicrous mannerisms. There are hints of Wilde himself aplenty in Algernon and his dashing flamboyancy.

The play follows a standard three act structure, and can be read casually easily in one sitting. I can imagine, and indeed would love to have the opportunity to perform what would be an exceptionally enjoyable play to rehearse.

It is not overly long, it is not overly pretentious and the language is beautiful. It knocks some of Shakespeare's overblown works for six and then some. This should be standard order for every classroom in the country. Wilde is a great, and is simply not revered enough.

The cheap Penguin edition is for my needs perfect. Clearly set out, nice handy size, good typeface and a brilliant £2 price tag. It's worth £2 of anyone's money. And I also like having the opportunity to have Wilde's plays in individual editions, rather than the bulky anthologies.

Concrete 5 stars, please read it, you certainly won't regret it.

6 people found this helpful

Mrs. K. M. Hunt

A perennial delight

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 23, 2012

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This Play never palls. Oscar Wilde's witty and amusing dialogue remains a perennial delight and it is a play which can be listened to over and over again with enjoyment.

This particular recording features a strong cast, with Jeremy Clyde, Richard Pasco and Prunella Scales taking the main parts.

It is also the first broadcast of the original four-act version of the play. The extra dialogue is not often met with in most modern productions.

It is ideal for listening to while doing a long, boring job, (such as the ironing!). And I am sure it will give equal pleasure, whether the listener is already familiar with the play, or whether it comes as an entirely new experience.

It remains a tragedy that the author of such a delicious light comedy should have met with such a disastrous fall from grace.

2 people found this helpful

Mr. K. Cross

Campness of the Highest Order

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 29, 2010

Vine Customer Review of Free Product( What's this? )Verified Purchase

Yes, this is Oscar Wilde's deliciously camp, ferociously witty comedy of errors & incisive observations on the social mores of the day. This presentation of the 1977 radio play offers pristine sound, excellent production values, & has a star-studded British cast, headed by Maurice Denham & the marvellous National Treasure that is Prunella Scales. I placed it on the CD tray & lay back on the bed, box of chocolates & glass of wine resting on the bedside table, & enjoyed every second of its 140 minutes' playing time (over 2 CDs). It's amazing to realise that this play was first performed in 1895, & that this particular broadcast is now 33 years old as it still sounds as vibrant, fresh, funny, perceptive & relevant today. Excellent entertainment, & these CDs can be played over again as there is such a richness to the writing & this production. Highly recommended.

One person found this helpful

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