Flamboyant and controversial, Oscar Wilde was a dazzlingpersonality, a master of wit, and a dramatic genius whose sparklingcomedies contain some of the most brilliant dialogue ever writtenfor the English stage. Here in one volume are his immensely popularnovel, The Picture of Dorian Gray; his last literary work, “TheBallad of Reading Gaol,” a product of his own prison experience;and four complete plays: Lady Windermere’s Fan, his first dramaticsuccess, An Ideal Husband, which pokes fun at conventionalmorality, The Importance of Being Earnest, his finest comedy, andSalomé, a portrait of uncontrollable love originally written inFrench and faithfully translated by Richard Ellmann. Every selection appears in its entirety–a marvelous collection ofoutstanding works by the incomparable Oscar Wilde, who’s been aptlycalled “a lord of language” by Max Beerbohm.
Belonging in the company of the works of Homer and Virgil, The Inferno is a moving human drama, a journey through thetorment of Hell, an expression of the Middle Ages, and a protestagainst the ways in which men have thwarted the divine plan.
"What makes his work great is that it can be felt andunderstood...by anybody," said Leo Tolstoy of Chekhov's plays,which express life through subtle construction, everyday dialogue,and an electrically charged atmosphere.
