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Oscar Wilde: The Complete Works (Collector's Library) by Oscar Wilde (Illustrated, 17 Mar 2011) Hardcover
This ebook contains Oscar Wilde's complete works. This edition has been professionally formatted and contains several tables of contents. The first table of contents (at the very beginning of the ebook) lists the titles of all novels included in this volume. By clicking on one of those titles you will be redirected to the beginning of that work, where you'll find a new TOC that lists all the chapters and sub-chapters of that specific work.
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About the author
Oscar Wilde
5,488 books38.8k followersOscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is best remembered for his epigrams and plays, his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, and his criminal conviction for gross indecency for homosexual acts.
Wilde's parents were Anglo-Irish intellectuals in Dublin. In his youth, Wilde learned to speak fluent French and German. At university, he read Greats; he demonstrated himself to be an exceptional classicist, first at Trinity College Dublin, then at Magdalen College, Oxford. He became associated with the emerging philosophy of aestheticism, led by two of his tutors, Walter Pater and John Ruskin. After university, Wilde moved to London into fashionable cultural and social circles.
Wilde tried his hand at various literary activities: he wrote a play, published a book of poems, lectured in the United States and Canada on "The English Renaissance" in art and interior decoration, and then returned to London where he lectured on his American travels and wrote reviews for various periodicals. Known for his biting wit, flamboyant dress and glittering conversational skill, Wilde became one of the best-known personalities of his day. At the turn of the 1890s, he refined his ideas about the supremacy of art in a series of dialogues and essays, and incorporated themes of decadence, duplicity, and beauty into what would be his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890). Wilde returned to drama, writing Salome (1891) in French while in Paris, but it was refused a licence for England due to an absolute prohibition on the portrayal of Biblical subjects on the English stage. Undiscouraged, Wilde produced four society comedies in the early 1890s, which made him one of the most successful playwrights of late-Victorian London.
At the height of his fame and success, while An Ideal Husband (1895) and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895) were still being performed in London, Wilde issued a civil writ against John Sholto Douglas, the 9th Marquess of Queensberry for criminal libel. The Marquess was the father of Wilde's lover, Lord Alfred Douglas. The libel hearings unearthed evidence that caused Wilde to drop his charges and led to his own arrest and criminal prosecution for gross indecency with other males. The jury was unable to reach a verdict and so a retrial was ordered. In the second trial Wilde was convicted and sentenced to two years' hard labour, the maximum penalty, and was jailed from 1895 to 1897. During his last year in prison he wrote De Profundis (published posthumously in abridged form in 1905), a long letter that discusses his spiritual journey through his trials and is a dark counterpoint to his earlier philosophy of pleasure. On the day of his release, he caught the overnight steamer to France, never to return to Britain or Ireland. In France and Italy, he wrote his last work, The Ballad of Reading Gaol (1898), a long poem commemorating the harsh rhythms of prison life.
Wilde's parents were Anglo-Irish intellectuals in Dublin. In his youth, Wilde learned to speak fluent French and German. At university, he read Greats; he demonstrated himself to be an exceptional classicist, first at Trinity College Dublin, then at Magdalen College, Oxford. He became associated with the emerging philosophy of aestheticism, led by two of his tutors, Walter Pater and John Ruskin. After university, Wilde moved to London into fashionable cultural and social circles.
Wilde tried his hand at various literary activities: he wrote a play, published a book of poems, lectured in the United States and Canada on "The English Renaissance" in art and interior decoration, and then returned to London where he lectured on his American travels and wrote reviews for various periodicals. Known for his biting wit, flamboyant dress and glittering conversational skill, Wilde became one of the best-known personalities of his day. At the turn of the 1890s, he refined his ideas about the supremacy of art in a series of dialogues and essays, and incorporated themes of decadence, duplicity, and beauty into what would be his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890). Wilde returned to drama, writing Salome (1891) in French while in Paris, but it was refused a licence for England due to an absolute prohibition on the portrayal of Biblical subjects on the English stage. Undiscouraged, Wilde produced four society comedies in the early 1890s, which made him one of the most successful playwrights of late-Victorian London.
At the height of his fame and success, while An Ideal Husband (1895) and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895) were still being performed in London, Wilde issued a civil writ against John Sholto Douglas, the 9th Marquess of Queensberry for criminal libel. The Marquess was the father of Wilde's lover, Lord Alfred Douglas. The libel hearings unearthed evidence that caused Wilde to drop his charges and led to his own arrest and criminal prosecution for gross indecency with other males. The jury was unable to reach a verdict and so a retrial was ordered. In the second trial Wilde was convicted and sentenced to two years' hard labour, the maximum penalty, and was jailed from 1895 to 1897. During his last year in prison he wrote De Profundis (published posthumously in abridged form in 1905), a long letter that discusses his spiritual journey through his trials and is a dark counterpoint to his earlier philosophy of pleasure. On the day of his release, he caught the overnight steamer to France, never to return to Britain or Ireland. In France and Italy, he wrote his last work, The Ballad of Reading Gaol (1898), a long poem commemorating the harsh rhythms of prison life.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 4, 2023
Long COVID rattled my ability to read in January. But I took to rereading good ol' Oscar, whose wit, erudition, and emotional poignancy (who cannot feel sorrow over DE PROFUNDIS) in an attempt to get my mind back. And he certainly helped. One of the greatest complete works in the English language.
August 23, 2024
A lot of good stories in his discography. Oscar wilde was definitely capable of producing a interesting allegory. His allegories sometimes follow a biblical style template; using a moral or a code of ethics to flesh out a story. Either way his fixation on birds and swallows has lend me appreciation for nature in a new light. Instead of seeing leaves fly by me, I would say “the leaves danced a rhythmic ballet to the whistle of wind”. It’s better not to say it in public or i may get a few awkward looking glances that express “the what the hell are you talking about” attitude which would be warranted. Mr Wilde has some funny stories like the Ghost of Canterville. The product placements were pretty funny.
December 8, 2019
Oscar Wilde is a genius and one of the funniest writers who have ever lived. How this doesn't havve 5 starts boggles me, I've always kept a copy of his full works near me as a full proof guarantee agaisnt madness.
will-come-back-to
April 3, 2024I have just started this as my copy arrived today. I read a poem, a children's story (first one in book) and 85-90% of a rather lengthy essay.
I have wanted to read his complete works for a LONG TIME. I am using it also to begin what is called the Ray Bradbury challenge. He encouraged writers and readers to keep their minds sharp by reading daily:
1 Poem
1 essay
1 short story
He also wanted people to do it for 1,000 days...Someone said that's 2 years and 9 months.
With the beginning of a new month I thought why not. There are all those forms in this book as well as children's stories and plays.
If people are interested you can find the Bradbury challenge on YouTube. Several booktubers including the hardcore literature book club have also highlighted the challenge! Enjoy!!
I have wanted to read his complete works for a LONG TIME. I am using it also to begin what is called the Ray Bradbury challenge. He encouraged writers and readers to keep their minds sharp by reading daily:
1 Poem
1 essay
1 short story
He also wanted people to do it for 1,000 days...Someone said that's 2 years and 9 months.
With the beginning of a new month I thought why not. There are all those forms in this book as well as children's stories and plays.
If people are interested you can find the Bradbury challenge on YouTube. Several booktubers including the hardcore literature book club have also highlighted the challenge! Enjoy!!
June 29, 2024
I enjoyed this, but it turned me into a slut.
February 29, 2020
“The Importance of being Earnest” and the plays are definitely of the most brilliant and hilarious pieces of literary work I have ever read. They’re filled with sarcasm and are intellectually stimulating. So sad I finished it.
November 3, 2024
Read his Complete Works twice growing up. He'll always be a big favourite author.
July 21, 2025
Love them!
<3
<3
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews