The Collected Works of Oscar Wilde (Special Editions) - Softcover

Wilde, Oscar

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1853263974 ISBN 13: 9781853263972

Publisher: Wordsworth Editions, 1997

Synopsis

Wilde's works are suffused with his aestheticism, brilliant craftsmanship, legendary wit and, ultimately, his tragic muse. He wrote tender fairy stories for children employing all his grace, artistry and wit, of which the best-known is The Happy Prince. Counterpoints to this were his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, which shocked and outraged many readers of his day, and his stories for adults which exhibited his fascination with the relations between serene art and decadent life. Wilde took London by storm with his plays, particularly his masterpiece The Importance of Being Earnest.

His essays - in particular De Profundis- and his Ballad of Reading Gaol, both written after his release from prison, strikingly break the bounds of his usual expressive range. His other essays and poems are all included in this comprehensive collection of the works of one of the most exciting writers of the late nineteenth century.

About this title

Review

The appearance of this first volume in the new Oxford series of Wilde's complete works is a significant event for all students of the writer. For the first time, all Wilde's known surviving poems are collected together, including twenty-one which were not published during his lifetime (Review of Engish Studies)

The editorial apparatus is meticulous and exhaustive ... As ancillary evidence for Wilde's later importance as a major cultural phenomenon, they [the poems] will reward more serious attention from scholars than they have previously received, and to that end this edition will deservedly become a standard work (Review of Engish Studies)

From the Back Cover

Continuously in print since 1948, the Collins 'Complete Works of Oscar Wilde' has long been established as the most comprehensive and authoritative single-volume collection of Wilde's work available, containing his only novel, ' The Pictures of Dorian Gray', as well as his plays, stories, poems, essays and letters, all in their most authoritative texts. This new and expanded edition now includes

· all the plays and stories
· additional essays and poems
· newly commissioned introductions to each section by Merlin Holland, Owen Dudley Edwards, Declan Kiberd and Terence Brown
· a chronological table of Oscar Wilde's life and work

This book retains the 1966 general introduction by Oscar Wilde's son, Vyvyan Holland, with a new introduction by his grandson, Merlin Holland. Also included is a comprehensive biography of works by and about Oscar Wilde.

Edition details

• Publisher: Wordsworth Editions
• Publication date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1853263974
• ISBN 13: 9781853263972
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 1104