The Wit of Oscar Wilde

by Oscar Wilde

The name of Oscar Wilde has become synonymous with wit. This volume brings together some of the finest and most biting examples - chosen by his grandson from a wide range of essays, stories, plays and poetry - all of them the product of the man who claimed he had nothing to declare but his genius.

Genres: Fiction, Classics, Poetry, Philosophy, Plays, Comedy, Literature

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

Oscar 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.

Reviews

[Margaret M - (having a challenging time and on GR as much as I can) · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”.

With one of my favourite quotes from Oscar Wilde we have four witty stars for the book that is a celebration of this literary genius.

The unabridged works provides us with a feast of short stories, extracts from The Picture of Dorian Gray, some of Wilde’s well-known essays, and plays. However, above all, it contains an abundance of quotes that this extraordinary talent was also famous for.

Some regard this as an introduction to Oscar Wilde’s works, however, I would say to appreciate it you should read the full versions of his works because then you would understand the context more. I loved this and would read again and again but it is a snapshot of his writing. However, enough to appreciate Wilde's sense of humour, wit and gift of expression and observation.

I bought this folio society edition which is beautifully illustrated and peppered with the quotes I have come to love. So a wonderful discovery and now for some of my favourite quotes.

“The old believe everything; the middle-aged suspect everything; the young know everything.”

“Nothing should be out of the reach of hope. Life is a hope.”

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

“How can a woman be expected to be happy with a man who insists on treating her as if she were a perfectly rational being.“

“A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything, and the value of nothing.”

"I can resist everything except temptation."

[Don LaFountaine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book to be rather mundane. It had some charming quotes, but it is essentially a quote book. This did not provide much insight into the world, though it showed how snobby and pretentious he was. It is worth reading at least once.

[shakespeareandspice]

Majority of this book consisted of excerpts from Wilde's other works so I ended up reading very little from it unfortunately.

[V · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a summary of many of Oscar Wilde's works. It is beautifully illustrated, as are most Folio Society editions of books. It runs mostly in chronological order of their output, just giving you a snippet of each type of writing he undertook, with a small biography running alongside.
Oscar Wilde wrote in many different styles but really most of his writing was contained in conversations, which this book will help you realise. Do not expect to get a full account of his works, for many of the extracts do not do justice to the pieces they take from as a whole.
This book is like eating from a buffet - a bit of this and a bit of that, but no one filling cuisine.
I would recommend this book for someone unsure of where to start with Oscar Wilde to get an idea of his wit, but please do him justice by reading the entire work before judging him.

[Jay Warner · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book contains a number of engaging quotes from Wilde's works, but they are largely quoted out of context. I found it interesting to read, and there were many quotes I hadn't seen before, but there were also quotes that I see often. It was a very quick read and I skimmed a lot of it because it did not engage me as a story might. I would still recommend reading it, but don't invest a lot of time or money.

[Cat Rayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fondness for Oscar Wilde and his sardonic wit has been around for years. This is a suitable collection for anyone to peruse, and Mc Cann carefully placed the source from Wildes literary offerings along with the quote, or statement.

A good resource book when needed a touch of sarcasm.

[Sarina M · Rating 5 out of 5]

This makes me wish I could have met him somehow, but my enthusiasm would probably not be reciprocated anyway

[Josephine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oscar Wilde is my fav gay twink

[Ainsley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love my bae Oscar Wilde ☺️🤭

[Jazzy Nowlan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was hoping it would feature and highlight his best work. Featuring his famous quotes and more about his life.
I was left a little confused. I don’t believe this was Oscar’s fault 😂 but the person who put it all together…
I felt it didn’t flow

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wilde certainly is witty - this book is amusing (and good to fall asleep to), but Wilde is even more funny in context. In this book he is ripped out of such context by an editor who makes good judgments, but sorts rather lazily. I would rather go back to Wilde's works directly.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

The king of epigrams himself. My only qualm in recommending this book is that there are so many websites that contain exactly the same material.

[Marjan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would be the fifth time I've picked this one up. That fact speaks volumes, does it not? :)

[Bulletproof · Rating 4 out of 5]

my spirit animal

[Nenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not only was Oscar Wilde a fabulous wit, this reminds one that he's also a hilariously sarcastic and snarky commentator. I'll bet if you enjoyed his humor you loved him, and if not you probably couldn't stand him.