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Complete Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde
The master of wit and irony
Published here alongside their evocative original illustrations, these fairy tales, as Oscar Wilde himself explained, were written “partly for children, and partly for those who have kept the childlike faculties of wonder and joy.”
Published here alongside their evocative original illustrations, these fairy tales, as Oscar Wilde himself explained, were written “partly for children, and partly for those who have kept the childlike faculties of wonder and joy.”
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1891
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About the author
Oscar Wilde
5,495 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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December 13, 2022
In a Nutshell: A compilation of two of Wilde’s three published short story anthologies. Garnished with illustrations by French illustrator Phillippe Jullian, and an afterword by Wilde's son Vyvyan Holland.
Oscar Wilde is one of my favourite writers, so it goes without saying that I have read almost all of his works. He had published three anthologies in this lifetime. Of these, the stories from ‘The Happy Prince and Other Stories’ (1888) and ‘A House of Pomegranates’ (1891) are included in this special 70th anniversary gift edition.
As modern readers, we assume ‘fairy stories’ to be stories with fairies such as Tinker Bell or Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother. However, the traditional meaning of the term defines a fairy story as any traditional story written for children and usually involving imaginary creatures or magic. Wilde make use of his Irish heritage to imbue his stories with a strong sense of lore and an underlying foundation of religious or moral ethics. But there are no actual fairies in his tales, and if you are a newbie to his works, it is better to keep this in mind.
Some of my favourite stories by Wilde are part of the ‘The Happy Prince’ collection. So I was glad to reread ‘The Happy Prince’, ‘The Nightingale and the Rose’, ‘The Selfish Giant’, and ‘The Devoted Friend’ yet again. The fifth story of this anthology – ‘The Remarkable Rocket’ – isn’t a big favourite of mine, but it still has enough to recommend it.
‘A House of Pomegranates’, however, isn’t among my beloved Wilde works. Of the four stories therein, I count only ‘The Birthday of the Infanta’ as a good story. Two of the other three (‘The Young King’ and ‘The Fisherman and His Soul’) are decent but have too many subtracks that serve mainly to showcase Wilde’s descriptive writing. The last story, ‘The Star-Child’, is wonderful except for the ending.
All of the above are stories I have read many times over the years, but I still enjoyed my reread of them through this book. Of the nine stories in the book, four are strong favourites of mine (5 stars each), and two are good enough (3.5-4 stars.)
That said, I am an attuned classics reader, so I know what to expect from Wilde’s works. Some of the content might seem dated to modern eyes, and some of the content is quite religious, which might take secular readers by surprise. I’ll just say, every classic work must be evaluated keeping in mind the writer’s personal beliefs and the societal standards in THAT era, and not by your 21st century perspective.
As these stories are all in the public domain, you do need to have something more in this book to recommend it. There are two things specific to this edition:
Recommended to classic fiction lovers.
3.75 stars, based on the average of my ratings for all the stories.
My thanks to Duckworth Books and NetGalley for the DRC of “The Complete Fairy Stories of Oscar Wilde”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
———————————————
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Oscar Wilde is one of my favourite writers, so it goes without saying that I have read almost all of his works. He had published three anthologies in this lifetime. Of these, the stories from ‘The Happy Prince and Other Stories’ (1888) and ‘A House of Pomegranates’ (1891) are included in this special 70th anniversary gift edition.
As modern readers, we assume ‘fairy stories’ to be stories with fairies such as Tinker Bell or Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother. However, the traditional meaning of the term defines a fairy story as any traditional story written for children and usually involving imaginary creatures or magic. Wilde make use of his Irish heritage to imbue his stories with a strong sense of lore and an underlying foundation of religious or moral ethics. But there are no actual fairies in his tales, and if you are a newbie to his works, it is better to keep this in mind.
Some of my favourite stories by Wilde are part of the ‘The Happy Prince’ collection. So I was glad to reread ‘The Happy Prince’, ‘The Nightingale and the Rose’, ‘The Selfish Giant’, and ‘The Devoted Friend’ yet again. The fifth story of this anthology – ‘The Remarkable Rocket’ – isn’t a big favourite of mine, but it still has enough to recommend it.
‘A House of Pomegranates’, however, isn’t among my beloved Wilde works. Of the four stories therein, I count only ‘The Birthday of the Infanta’ as a good story. Two of the other three (‘The Young King’ and ‘The Fisherman and His Soul’) are decent but have too many subtracks that serve mainly to showcase Wilde’s descriptive writing. The last story, ‘The Star-Child’, is wonderful except for the ending.
All of the above are stories I have read many times over the years, but I still enjoyed my reread of them through this book. Of the nine stories in the book, four are strong favourites of mine (5 stars each), and two are good enough (3.5-4 stars.)
That said, I am an attuned classics reader, so I know what to expect from Wilde’s works. Some of the content might seem dated to modern eyes, and some of the content is quite religious, which might take secular readers by surprise. I’ll just say, every classic work must be evaluated keeping in mind the writer’s personal beliefs and the societal standards in THAT era, and not by your 21st century perspective.
As these stories are all in the public domain, you do need to have something more in this book to recommend it. There are two things specific to this edition:
1. A critical note penned by Oscar Wilde’s son, Vyvyan Holland: This isn’t too lengthy but it offers a nice background to the stories and to Wilde’s belief system.
2. The illustrations by “celebrated twentieth-century artist and aesthete Phillippe Jullian”: I admit, the illustrations were the main reason for my requesting a collection that I had already read every single story of. But the sketches proved to be disappointing. I didn’t find any of them adding value to the story. They look more like children’s scribbles than like something sketched by a popular artist. They might have worked better with colour, or his artistic style might just be an acquired taste, but in the current form, not a single illustration was memorable to me.
Recommended to classic fiction lovers.
3.75 stars, based on the average of my ratings for all the stories.
My thanks to Duckworth Books and NetGalley for the DRC of “The Complete Fairy Stories of Oscar Wilde”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
———————————————
Connect with me through:
My Blog | The StoryGraph | Facebook | Twitter
November 19, 2017
The Happy Prince and Other Tales
The Happy Prince - a swallow who was left behind after his flock flew off to Egypt for the winter, meets the statue of the late "Happy Prince" (4 stars)
The Nightingale and the Rose - a nightingale overhears a student complaining that his professor's daughter will not dance with him, as he is unable to give her a red rose (4 stars)
The Selfish Giant the Selfish Giant owns a beautiful garden which has 12 peach trees and lovely fragrant flowers, in which children love to play after returning from the school so they anger the giant (3 stars)
The Devoted Friend - poor man known as little Hans is a friend to rich Miller, but the later takes advantage of that friendship (4 stars)
The Remarkable Rocket a much too proud firework is one of many to be let off at the wedding of a prince and princess (3 stars)
A House of Pomegranates
The Young King - the illegitimate shepherd son of the recently dead king's daughter is the only heir so he is brought to the palace to await his accession (4 stars)
The Birthday of the Infanta - a hunchbacked dwarf, found in the woods by courtiers of the King of Spain, whose father sells him to the palace for the amusement of the king's daughter, the Infanta, on her twelfth birthday (4 stars)
The Fisherman and his Soul - a young Fisherman finds a Mermaid and wants nothing more than to marry her, but he cannot, for one cannot live underwater if one has a soul (3 stars)
The Star-Child - an infant boy found abandoned in the woods by a poor woodcutter, who pities him and takes him in. He grows up to be exceedingly beautiful, but vain, cruel, and arrogant, believing himself to be the divine child of the stars (4 stars)
The Happy Prince - a swallow who was left behind after his flock flew off to Egypt for the winter, meets the statue of the late "Happy Prince" (4 stars)
The Nightingale and the Rose - a nightingale overhears a student complaining that his professor's daughter will not dance with him, as he is unable to give her a red rose (4 stars)
The Selfish Giant the Selfish Giant owns a beautiful garden which has 12 peach trees and lovely fragrant flowers, in which children love to play after returning from the school so they anger the giant (3 stars)
The Devoted Friend - poor man known as little Hans is a friend to rich Miller, but the later takes advantage of that friendship (4 stars)
The Remarkable Rocket a much too proud firework is one of many to be let off at the wedding of a prince and princess (3 stars)
A House of Pomegranates
The Young King - the illegitimate shepherd son of the recently dead king's daughter is the only heir so he is brought to the palace to await his accession (4 stars)
The Birthday of the Infanta - a hunchbacked dwarf, found in the woods by courtiers of the King of Spain, whose father sells him to the palace for the amusement of the king's daughter, the Infanta, on her twelfth birthday (4 stars)
The Fisherman and his Soul - a young Fisherman finds a Mermaid and wants nothing more than to marry her, but he cannot, for one cannot live underwater if one has a soul (3 stars)
The Star-Child - an infant boy found abandoned in the woods by a poor woodcutter, who pities him and takes him in. He grows up to be exceedingly beautiful, but vain, cruel, and arrogant, believing himself to be the divine child of the stars (4 stars)
January 29, 2023
In this collection are the nine fairytales of Oscar Wilde beginning with The Happy Prince. I really enjoyed it, I’ve never read any of them before and they are all beautifully written with familiar fairytale characters(princes and princesses, talking animals, mermaids and giants) and themes (it’s better to be kind than mean) but with originality and imagination. I was never bored, or felt it was childish. There’s some quite sad moments (not just the happy prince but the poor nightingale as well!) and some humour too. A lovely book.
July 6, 2015
This is a book that I have been waiting to read for a while now for two reasons. The first is the need to read up on fairy tales from across the World. This was one of those interests that was forever doomed to be in the attic of my mind. I would glance at my wish list and keep the fairy tales aside for just one more time. So finally I mustered up enough resolve and got this book to read. The second reason was that I hadn’t read anything by Oscar Wilde yet and thought of starting from here. It certainly was a good start. This book combines nine stories from two separate volumes : The Happy Prince and The House Of Pomegranates which to sum up are all pretty bleak and depressing. Maybe this was a problem with my expectation of the word fairy tale for I anticipated conclusions which are better and finer for the key characters. Wilde however shows a different world view altogether. He does have the key ingredients of fables in his stories : magic, animals who talk, gods and demons but the situations and occurrences in his stories are closer to real life than fantasy. The good does not always succeed, nice people get cut down fastest and selfishness almost always wins the day. This is not to say that the stories are not enjoyable, they are little gems of the writing craft and quite beautiful in terms of the language.
Oscar Wilde is rather unmatched in his description of beauty. Descriptions of nature and of human beings are stunningly evocative and made me yearn for more of it. There is this story of ‘The nightingale and the rose’ which talks about the ultimate futility of sacrifice and the irony of being in love, where at the start of the tale itself you sense that things won’t go right for the poor nightingale making the ultimate sacrifice. The sense of irony in these stories are as sharp as knives. A prime example for this is ‘The Star Child’ where almost everything seems to be going well when in the last one sentence, Wilde turns the whole story on it is head. The story of the happy prince is heartbreakingly beautiful and so is the one of the selfish giant. They filled me with awe and the all-encompassing power of having a gentleness to one’s behavior to fellow beings. The descriptions of lands from far away as told in ‘The fisherman and his soul’ are perhaps the finest descriptions of cultures and people of lands that never will be in existence.
To say that Oscar Wilde is brilliant is laughingly absurd and yet this is a must read for anyone who ever wants to know what a really brilliant fairy tale feels like.
Oscar Wilde is rather unmatched in his description of beauty. Descriptions of nature and of human beings are stunningly evocative and made me yearn for more of it. There is this story of ‘The nightingale and the rose’ which talks about the ultimate futility of sacrifice and the irony of being in love, where at the start of the tale itself you sense that things won’t go right for the poor nightingale making the ultimate sacrifice. The sense of irony in these stories are as sharp as knives. A prime example for this is ‘The Star Child’ where almost everything seems to be going well when in the last one sentence, Wilde turns the whole story on it is head. The story of the happy prince is heartbreakingly beautiful and so is the one of the selfish giant. They filled me with awe and the all-encompassing power of having a gentleness to one’s behavior to fellow beings. The descriptions of lands from far away as told in ‘The fisherman and his soul’ are perhaps the finest descriptions of cultures and people of lands that never will be in existence.
To say that Oscar Wilde is brilliant is laughingly absurd and yet this is a must read for anyone who ever wants to know what a really brilliant fairy tale feels like.
December 14, 2022
Oscar Wild is one of my favorites. His tales are not just for kids, they are for anyone for anytime.
January 3, 2023
"As for thy dreams, think no more of them. The burden of this world is too great for one man to bear, and the world's sorrow too heavy for one heart to suffer."
A collection of vivid and imaginative stories that are a delicious blend of folklore and religious ideas very much in line with his Irish ancestry.
The Complete Fairy Stories of Oscar Wilde contain eight tales that don't actually all feature fairies, but still all feel rooted in that kind of mysticism. These are stories for children that have a solid foundation of moral ethics and often some of Wilde's trademark humorous wit. A lot of these were quite touching, like The Nightingale and the Rose in which a nightingale overhears a young man complain that his professor's daughter won't dance with him and decides to give his life for a red rose with which the man in love can impress his lady. I won't spoil the end, but it's bittersweet at best.
These really felt magical. Oscar Wilde's writing is truly lush and while his descriptions of things and places feel otherworldly, the themes of his stories are very much contemporary. The Happy Prince for example is a story about compassion and the power of selfless love and will again make your heart cry out in both joy and pain. Beware the imagery of these, while directed at children there are definitely some gruesome things happening, so we've got eyes being plucked out, children being bullied and men cutting off their souls.
If you enjoy fairy tales, these are wonderful. I really enjoyed the messages of them – Wilde certainly seemed aware of how cruel and unjust society can be, so not all stories end will, yet the reader's sympathy will always lie with the victims of the oppressors who will show strength in soul and character. It's worth being a good person in the end.
A collection of vivid and imaginative stories that are a delicious blend of folklore and religious ideas very much in line with his Irish ancestry.
The Complete Fairy Stories of Oscar Wilde contain eight tales that don't actually all feature fairies, but still all feel rooted in that kind of mysticism. These are stories for children that have a solid foundation of moral ethics and often some of Wilde's trademark humorous wit. A lot of these were quite touching, like The Nightingale and the Rose in which a nightingale overhears a young man complain that his professor's daughter won't dance with him and decides to give his life for a red rose with which the man in love can impress his lady. I won't spoil the end, but it's bittersweet at best.
These really felt magical. Oscar Wilde's writing is truly lush and while his descriptions of things and places feel otherworldly, the themes of his stories are very much contemporary. The Happy Prince for example is a story about compassion and the power of selfless love and will again make your heart cry out in both joy and pain. Beware the imagery of these, while directed at children there are definitely some gruesome things happening, so we've got eyes being plucked out, children being bullied and men cutting off their souls.
If you enjoy fairy tales, these are wonderful. I really enjoyed the messages of them – Wilde certainly seemed aware of how cruel and unjust society can be, so not all stories end will, yet the reader's sympathy will always lie with the victims of the oppressors who will show strength in soul and character. It's worth being a good person in the end.
March 7, 2021
So. Fucking. Good.
I don't normally like short stories, and to be honest I didn't expect I'd like this one. But Oscar Wilde has such a wonderfully naughty, yet poignant, perspective on human beings' idiosyncrasies that everything he writes is brilliant. He is neither easy nor unforgiving. He is wildly creative. He is deepfelt and somehow simultaneously lighthearted. This could be a book for children, or a book for adults. It's wonderful.
I don't normally like short stories, and to be honest I didn't expect I'd like this one. But Oscar Wilde has such a wonderfully naughty, yet poignant, perspective on human beings' idiosyncrasies that everything he writes is brilliant. He is neither easy nor unforgiving. He is wildly creative. He is deepfelt and somehow simultaneously lighthearted. This could be a book for children, or a book for adults. It's wonderful.
January 16, 2020
This is the first long ago high school (and community college) mandated reminiscent read that I've done since I decided to start the new year with, among other things, lifting my self imposed ban on all the white male hoards that used to claw so presumptuously for my attention. I wasn't amazed or anything by this one, but it was deeply nostalgic to read something so forthright in its ethos and aesthetics, oftentimes soaring to glorious heights whilst utilizing the sorts of seductive overtones of both socialist compassion and abject bigotry: all in all, the best and worst of 19th c. Anglo rolled into a single work. Still, Wilde being Wilde gives a deeper meaning to it all, and while I don't deny the more horrid aspects of his character, I also acknowledge how he was essentially murdered by a country that claims him, as well as many other of his kind that are bled to this day, as artistic heritage, much as Turing would later on be sacrificed on the altar of WWII. A fraught queer history, then, but while I do not glorify, I still find worth in even these children's, supposedly, tales with their firm "Oriental" delineations and insistence on asking the hard questions long before le Guin posed the question of Omelas; often, to boot, in the form of bountiful, beautiful prose.
Every rare instance that I read a collection like this, I find myself picking and choosing which stories I would conceivably read to a child. Censorship and all that, but childhoods are not created equal, and I run into enough non-WASP people on a daily basis that Wilde's tales, however lustrous they are, easily outstay their welcome in certain places, and I'll not be the one to start any child's course in the history of dehumanization unless it be absolutely necessary. In light of that, then, the ones I find to be the most appropriate would be "The Selfish Giant" and "The Young King", while the ones I find to be of the highest craft would be "The Young King" yet again and "The Fisherman and His Soul". The rest follow similar trends of alternating moralizing and satire, "The Happy Prince" following more in the first category, "The Remarkable Rocket" in the second, and "The Nightingale and the Rose" firmly in the middle. The afterword for this edition goes plenty into the queer undertones of this collection as a whole, as well as notes Wilde's subversion of a few of fellow fairy tale writer Andersen's tales, which I find interesting due to the fact that said precursor was hardly on the straight and narrow himself, albeit less gay and more equal opportunity instead. I'm sure at least one person's delved more into the interweaving of fairy tales and queerdom: the negative connotations of the term "fairies" have to have been picked apart by now. All in all, a relatively unprepossessing part of literary history, as well as likely one of the less painful ways I could reintroduce myself back to the white male fiefdom of literature. Definitely a lot less heterosexual nonsense to deal with, at least.
After this trial run, I have some Hugo, Shakespeare, and Poe lined up for this year, all returns to these authors through mostly new material. I haven't touched most of them in almost a decade, and as I'm doing my usual go big or go home with Poe in taking on some form of his complete works, I can see myself getting frustrated at one point or another. Or, I may find myself as taken in as I was back then by an author who, the more I learn about him through tangents and opportune moments, the more I realize how truly singularly significant he was. In essence, I'm settling into a median frame between one extreme and another, the complete status quo and the completely not, and it's admittedly very nice to be able to stretch a bit and take on some of those many white whales I see on many a "Best of" lists. Only about a tenth of my planned 2020 challenge qualifies as such, and I'd be comfortable with that ratio staying between that and 25% at any given juncture. I've outgrown every list of reading advisement I've run into so far, and just as how I'm satisfied with Wilde after three works (although a reread of Dorian Gray, this time the uncensored version, is in order), I seek a similar level of satisfaction with other esteemed greats; if only to get the persistent niggle in my brain off my back.
Every rare instance that I read a collection like this, I find myself picking and choosing which stories I would conceivably read to a child. Censorship and all that, but childhoods are not created equal, and I run into enough non-WASP people on a daily basis that Wilde's tales, however lustrous they are, easily outstay their welcome in certain places, and I'll not be the one to start any child's course in the history of dehumanization unless it be absolutely necessary. In light of that, then, the ones I find to be the most appropriate would be "The Selfish Giant" and "The Young King", while the ones I find to be of the highest craft would be "The Young King" yet again and "The Fisherman and His Soul". The rest follow similar trends of alternating moralizing and satire, "The Happy Prince" following more in the first category, "The Remarkable Rocket" in the second, and "The Nightingale and the Rose" firmly in the middle. The afterword for this edition goes plenty into the queer undertones of this collection as a whole, as well as notes Wilde's subversion of a few of fellow fairy tale writer Andersen's tales, which I find interesting due to the fact that said precursor was hardly on the straight and narrow himself, albeit less gay and more equal opportunity instead. I'm sure at least one person's delved more into the interweaving of fairy tales and queerdom: the negative connotations of the term "fairies" have to have been picked apart by now. All in all, a relatively unprepossessing part of literary history, as well as likely one of the less painful ways I could reintroduce myself back to the white male fiefdom of literature. Definitely a lot less heterosexual nonsense to deal with, at least.
After this trial run, I have some Hugo, Shakespeare, and Poe lined up for this year, all returns to these authors through mostly new material. I haven't touched most of them in almost a decade, and as I'm doing my usual go big or go home with Poe in taking on some form of his complete works, I can see myself getting frustrated at one point or another. Or, I may find myself as taken in as I was back then by an author who, the more I learn about him through tangents and opportune moments, the more I realize how truly singularly significant he was. In essence, I'm settling into a median frame between one extreme and another, the complete status quo and the completely not, and it's admittedly very nice to be able to stretch a bit and take on some of those many white whales I see on many a "Best of" lists. Only about a tenth of my planned 2020 challenge qualifies as such, and I'd be comfortable with that ratio staying between that and 25% at any given juncture. I've outgrown every list of reading advisement I've run into so far, and just as how I'm satisfied with Wilde after three works (although a reread of Dorian Gray, this time the uncensored version, is in order), I seek a similar level of satisfaction with other esteemed greats; if only to get the persistent niggle in my brain off my back.
March 31, 2010
This collection comprises both the Happy Prince compilation and the House of Pomegranates compilation of Oscar Wilde's short stories. I suppose this wonderful collection has been buried so long because of Wilde's sexual orientation. That's so sad because it means that millions of children growing up over the past several decades have missed experiencing these tales. I'm glad to see that the collection is back in print and have finally found it in my local bookstore.
The "Complete Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde" contains these stories:
"The Happy Prince" >> A statue of a prince asks a bird friend to deliver precious gems on his body to people who are in need in the town so that they may survive and in turn is deemed to be no longer beautiful.
"The Nightingale and the Rose" >> A Nightingale makes the ultimate sacrifice in the form of a song so that a a boy may win the heart of a maiden.
"The Selfish Giant" >> A grumpy giant closes his courtyard off to children so Spring refuses to come back leaving Winter to constantly blunder him.
"The Devoted Friend" >> A friend accepts a small favor and is expected to do entirely too much in return.
"The Remarkable Rocket" >> A rocket (firecracker) who is quite arrogant ends up being the bottom of the bunch.
The "House Of Pomegranates" contains these stories:
"The Young King" >> A King has a series of dreams which lead him to no longer want the royal treatment once he sees what it costs others.
"The Birthday of the Infanta" >> A dwarf who performs for the Infanta on her birthday becomes obsessively in love with her and is disillusioned on his way to finding her.
"The Fisherman and His Soul" >> A fisherman gives his soul to be with a mermaid and learns the hard way the price that he has paid for doing so.
"The Star-Child" >> A Child falls from the sky, is taken in by a family, and grows to have a horrible attitude. When he tries to redeem himself, he finds that it may be too late to do so.
It isn't an easy job to write a story for children that carries over on another level when the reader is an adult, yet Wilde has done it. Each tale is a gem onto itself: deep and moving, yet profoundly simple at the same time.
Book Details:
Title Complete Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde
Author Oscar Wilde
Reviewed By Purplycookie
The "Complete Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde" contains these stories:
"The Happy Prince" >> A statue of a prince asks a bird friend to deliver precious gems on his body to people who are in need in the town so that they may survive and in turn is deemed to be no longer beautiful.
"The Nightingale and the Rose" >> A Nightingale makes the ultimate sacrifice in the form of a song so that a a boy may win the heart of a maiden.
"The Selfish Giant" >> A grumpy giant closes his courtyard off to children so Spring refuses to come back leaving Winter to constantly blunder him.
"The Devoted Friend" >> A friend accepts a small favor and is expected to do entirely too much in return.
"The Remarkable Rocket" >> A rocket (firecracker) who is quite arrogant ends up being the bottom of the bunch.
The "House Of Pomegranates" contains these stories:
"The Young King" >> A King has a series of dreams which lead him to no longer want the royal treatment once he sees what it costs others.
"The Birthday of the Infanta" >> A dwarf who performs for the Infanta on her birthday becomes obsessively in love with her and is disillusioned on his way to finding her.
"The Fisherman and His Soul" >> A fisherman gives his soul to be with a mermaid and learns the hard way the price that he has paid for doing so.
"The Star-Child" >> A Child falls from the sky, is taken in by a family, and grows to have a horrible attitude. When he tries to redeem himself, he finds that it may be too late to do so.
It isn't an easy job to write a story for children that carries over on another level when the reader is an adult, yet Wilde has done it. Each tale is a gem onto itself: deep and moving, yet profoundly simple at the same time.
Book Details:
Title Complete Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde
Author Oscar Wilde
Reviewed By Purplycookie
February 16, 2010
I'll admit up front that I've never read anything by Oscar Wilde before now, and I think that I'm sorry that I've waited this long. I thoroughly enjoyed his fairy tales, and even found myself underlining multiple passages in the book for future reference. I felt that his insight into life and love and all the joy and troubles that come with both was quite remarkable and still very relevant for our time, even though these stories were written over 100 years ago. I'm sure that if I were more versed in fairy tales and folklore as a whole I might see more relations between his stories and those that came before, but taking these for what they are I enjoyed them immensely. The particular volume that I have contains both of Wilde's collections, The Happy Prince and Other Tales and A House of Pomegranates, in one volume, and I while I enjoyed all the stories, I found that I did enjoy the stories that were from The Happy Prince and Other Tales slightly more.
The stories contained in The Happy Prince and Other Tales are "The Happy Prince", "The Nightingale and the Rose" (my favorite), "The Selfish Giant", "The Devoted Friend" (probable my next favorite), and "The Remarkable Rocket". A House of Pomegranates contains "The Young King", "The Birthday of the Infanta", "The Fisherman and His Soul" (a unique reworking of "The Little Mermaid"), and "The Star-Child" (another unique reworking of "Beauty and the Beast").
The stories can easily be enjoyed just as much by adults as by children, and I think that adults as a whole may actually get more out the stories than children. The tales deal broadly with love and individualism and being true to your self even when others may look down on you. The views of love are both in and out of favor of it, and my favorite passage from the book deals with Love and how it can lead one astray: "What a silly thing Love is. It is not half as useful as Logic, for it does not prove anything, and it is always telling one of things that are not going to happen, and making one believe things that are not true. In fact, it is quite impractical..." Like I said, the insights that Wilde has on love and life are quite remarkable and I found them very relevant for my life right now. I would highly recommend this book to anyone.
The stories contained in The Happy Prince and Other Tales are "The Happy Prince", "The Nightingale and the Rose" (my favorite), "The Selfish Giant", "The Devoted Friend" (probable my next favorite), and "The Remarkable Rocket". A House of Pomegranates contains "The Young King", "The Birthday of the Infanta", "The Fisherman and His Soul" (a unique reworking of "The Little Mermaid"), and "The Star-Child" (another unique reworking of "Beauty and the Beast").
The stories can easily be enjoyed just as much by adults as by children, and I think that adults as a whole may actually get more out the stories than children. The tales deal broadly with love and individualism and being true to your self even when others may look down on you. The views of love are both in and out of favor of it, and my favorite passage from the book deals with Love and how it can lead one astray: "What a silly thing Love is. It is not half as useful as Logic, for it does not prove anything, and it is always telling one of things that are not going to happen, and making one believe things that are not true. In fact, it is quite impractical..." Like I said, the insights that Wilde has on love and life are quite remarkable and I found them very relevant for my life right now. I would highly recommend this book to anyone.
June 10, 2024
compendium of parables, all w a bittersweet conclusion. i prefer the second volume, the house of pomegranate, as the stories are less excessively sacrificial in theme and more closely follow classical fairytale composition. he began to speak to the people, desiring to speak to them of the wrath of God. but the beauty of the white flowers troubled him, and their odour was sweet, and there came another word into his lips, and he spake not of the wrath of God, but of the God whose name is Love. and why he so spake, he knew not.
May 19, 2018
If you know me, you know I love Wilde. In fact, his wit, writing, humor, and being prone to dramatics establish him as one of my favorite authors. Most of the stories in this anthology enchanted me; others were unforgivably boring (ahem I'm looking at you, The Fisherman and His Soul.)
I bet Wilde is rolling in his grave because I called one of his stories boring. Oops.
I bet Wilde is rolling in his grave because I called one of his stories boring. Oops.
September 7, 2010
I enjoyed these tales. Each is a credit to the wonderful and dark mind of Oscar Wilde. Although each tale is "typical" in the fairy tale style, Oscar Wilde has added his particular style and flair to them. Slightly off the norm, with a twist of dark.
June 23, 2021
such a lovely read - as always oscar wilde’s prose is rich and magical and just wonderful, and the messages behind these tales are important for younger readers and adults alike.
my favourite story was probably the happy prince!
my favourite story was probably the happy prince!
November 21, 2022
The happy prince: 5
The nightingale and the rose: 5
The selfish giant: ?
The devoted friend: 4
The remarkable rocket: 2.5
The birthday of infanta: 3
The star-child: 4
The fisherman and his soul: 4
The young king: 3.5
The nightingale and the rose: 5
The selfish giant: ?
The devoted friend: 4
The remarkable rocket: 2.5
The birthday of infanta: 3
The star-child: 4
The fisherman and his soul: 4
The young king: 3.5
December 31, 2017
Chọn cuốn này để đọc vào cuối năm là quá chuẩn luôn. Nhẹ nhàng và rất sâu sắc.
August 11, 2024
۱۱ سپتامبر سال پیش یه سری نوت نوشتم ازش توی کانال الان تصمیم گرفتم اینجا هم باشن.
وایلد دو تا مجموعه جداگانه به اسم the happy prince and other tales (سال 1888) و a house of pomegranates (سال 1891) چاپ میکنه که الان فهمیدم اولی نسخهی annotatedشدهاش رایگان توسط گوگل ارائه میشه!
حالا اینم بخشهای بولدترش برای من:
'How well you talk‘! said the Miller’s Wife, pouring herself out a large glass of warm ale; ’‘really I feel quite drowsy. It is just like being in church."
Nay, but God careth for the sparrows even, and feedeth them,” he answered.“Do not the sparrows die of hunger in the winter?” she asked. “And is it not winter now?”
خیلی جالبه واقعا اینجوری shade میندازه به کلیسا بعد کارهاش undertoneهای مسیحیت رو دارن. زندگینامهاش رو که نگاه میکنم منطقا باید خیلی نفرت میورزید به دین و مسیحیت ولی اینجا من ندیدم چنین چیزی. لایک یکی از کاراکتراش لجیت مسیح بود.
“Then he asked me who was the prophet of God, and I answered him Mohammed.“When he heard the name of the false prophet, he bowed and took me by the hand, and placed me by his side.
یک سری چیزهای جالب دیگه:
“In war,” answered the weaver, “the strong make slaves of the weak, and in peace the rich make slaves of the poor. We must work to live, and they give us such mean wages that we die, (...), We have chains, though no eye beholds them; and are slaves, though men call us free.”“Is it so with all?” he asked.“It is so with all,” answered the weaver, “with the young as well as with the old, with the women as well as with the men, with the little children as well as with those who are stricken in years. The merchants grind us down, and we must needs do their bidding. The priest rides by and tells his beads, and no man has care of us. Through our sunless lanes creeps Poverty with her hungry eyes, and Sin with his sodden face follows close behind her. Misery wakes us in the morning, and Shame sits with us at night. But what are these things to thee? Thou are not one of us. Thy face is too happy.”
"Should I not love also?” asked his Soul.
این سه تا هم خیلی metal بودن:
"Let us not tarry, but get hence at once, for the Sea-gods are jealous, and have monsters that do their bidding.”
“I told him that my desire was to see the god.“ ‘The god is hunting,’ said the priest, looking strangely at me with his small slanting eyes.“ ‘Tell me in what forest, and I will ride with him,’ I answered.“He combed out the soft fringes of his tunic with his long pointed nails. ‘The god is asleep,’ he murmured.“ ‘Tell me on what couch, and I will watch by him,’ I answered.“ ‘The God is at the feast,’ he cried.“ ‘If the wine be sweet I will drink it with him, and if it be bitter I will drink it with him also,’ was my answer.
“And I said to the priest, ‘Where is the god?’“And he answered me: ‘There is no god but this mirror that thou seest, for this is the Mirror of Wisdom. And it reflecteth all things that are in heaven and on earth, save only the face of him who looketh into it. This it reflecteth not, so that he who looketh into it may be wise. Many other mirrors are there, but they are mirrors of Opinion. This only is the Mirror of Wisdom. And they who possess this mirror know everything, nor is there anything hidden from them. And they who possess it not have not Wisdom. Therefore is it the god, and we worship it.’ And I looked into the mirror, and it was even as he had said to me.
بعد خیلی humour جالبی داره:
They did not understand a single word of what he was saying, but that made no matter, for they put their heads on one side, and looked wise, which is quite as good as understanding a thing, and very much easier.
at the Spanish Court, always noted for its cultivated passion for the horrible,
“I am rather afraid that I have annoyed him,” answered the Linnet. “The fact is, that I told him a story with a moral.” “Ah! that is always a very dangerous thing to do,” said the Duck.And I quite agree with her.
and the King gave orders that the Page’s salary was to be doubled. As he received no salary at all this was not of much use to him, but it was considered a great honour, and was duly published in the Court Gazette.
She was one of those people who think that, if you say the same thing over and over a great many times, it becomes true in the end.
“What is a sensitive person?” said the Cracker to the Roman Candle.“A person who, because he has corns himself, always treads on other people’s toes,”
“I was saying,” continued the Rocket, “I was saying—What was I saying?”“You were talking about yourself,” replied the Roman Candle.“Of course; I knew I was discussing some interesting subject when I was so rudely interrupted. I hate rudeness and bad manners of every kind, for I am extremely sensitive. No one in the whole world is so sensitive as I am, I am quite sure of that.”
He must have a truly romantic nature,” said the Catherine Wheel, “for he weeps when there is nothing at all to weep about”
The only thing that sustains one through life is the consciousness of the immense inferiority of everybody else, and this is a feeling that I have always cultivated.
Are not the rich and the poor brothers?” asked the young King.“Aye,” answered the man, “and the name of the rich brother is Cain.”
They did not understand a single word of what he was saying, but that made no matter, for they put their heads on one side, and looked wise, which is quite as good as understanding a thing, and very much easier.
Well, that is his loss, not mine,” answered the Rocket. “I am not going to stop talking to him merely because he pays no attention. I like hearing myself talk. It is one of my greatest pleasures. I often have long conversations all by myself, and I am so clever that sometimes I don’t understand a single word of what I am saying.”“Then you should certainly lecture on Philosophy,”
یاد پارسال حین و بعد اعتراضات افتادم:
“I am laughing because I am happy,” replied the Cracker.“That is a very selfish reason,” said the Rocket angrily. “What right have you to be happy? You should be thinking about others. In fact, you should be thinking about me. I am always thinking about myself, and I expect everybody else to do the same. That is what is called sympathy. It is a beautiful virtue, and I possess it in a high degree. Suppose, for instance, anything happened to me to-night, what a misfortune that would be for every one! The Prince and Princess would never be happy again, their whole married life would be spoiled; and as for the King, I know he would not get over it. Really, when I begin to reflect on the importance of my position, I am almost moved to tears.”
اینجاش هم که (if you know you know):
I have enjoyed our conversation very much, I assure you.”“Conversation, indeed!” said the Rocket. “You have talked the whole time yourself. That is not conversation.”“Somebody must listen,” answered the Frog, “and I like to do all the talking myself. It saves time, and prevents arguments.”“But I like arguments,” said the Rocket.“I hope not,” said the Frog complacently. “Arguments are extremely vulgar, for everybody in good society holds exactly the same opinions. ”
برام خیلی جالب بود که گویا مثل ما اعتقاد دارن اگر کف دست بخاره اتفاقی میفته:
By the itching of her palm the young Witch knew his coming,
وایلد پایهگذار aesthetisism بود و این توی همین افسانههاش با تاکیدی که روی زیبایی و art for the sake of art داره مشهوده:
that the secrets of art are best learned in secret, and that Beauty, like Wisdom, loves the lonely worshipper.
one who was seeking to find in beauty an anodyne from pain, a sort of restoration from sickness.
دیدگاهش نسبت به عشق فرق میکنه داستان به داستان و از زوایای مختلف نتایج مختلف عاشقی رو نشون میده. گاهی یک طرفهاست و حتی توی happy prince جفت طرفین ضمیر he دارن =)
گاهی به بدبختی میانجامه و گاهی همه چیز دیزنیوار تموم میشه. چیز ثابتش devotion عاشق به معشوقه.
For her body I would give my soul, and for her love I would surrender heaven.
Any place you love is the world to you.
“but love is not fashionable any more, the poets have killed it. They wrote so much about it that nobody believed them, and I am not surprised. True love suffers, and is silent. I remember myself once—But it is no matter now. Romance is a thing of the past.”
حالا speaking of gay couples موقع توصیف کارکترهای مذکر خیلی homoerotic مینویسه =) و مثلا ابایی نداره از این که کاراکترش موقع تحسین کردن زیبایی، مردا رو هم تحسین کنه:
and had flung himself back with a deep sigh of relief on the soft cushions of his embroidered couch, lying there, wild-eyed and open-mouthed, like a brown woodland Faun.
It was a man dressed in a suit of black velvet, cut in the Spanish fashion. His face was strangely pale, but his lips were like a proud red flower. He seemed weary, and was leaning back toying in a listless manner with the pommel of his dagger. On the grass beside him lay a plumed hat, and a pair of riding gloves gauntleted with gilt lace, and sewn with seed-pearls wrought into a curious device. A short cloak lined with sables hung from his shoulder, and his delicate white hands were gemmed with rings. Heavy eyelids drooped over his eyes.
and after a lengthened search had been discovered in a little chamber in one of the northern turrets of the palace gazing, as one in a trance, at a Greek gem carved with the figure of Adonis.
و خب این نترس بودنش رو نه تنها در سبک نوشتاریش بلکه در وقایع زندگیش (که در نهایت به محکومیت به زندان منجر شد) و دیگر جملات و عقایدش هم میشه دید:
"Wickedness is a myth invented by good people to account for the curious attractiveness of others."
From the middle of the 1880s, he spent less time with his wife and family and more time cultivating the company of young men. Some were of his social class; some were not. “I want to eat of all the fruit of all the trees in the garden of the world,” he said. As the years went by, he took increasing risks. He relished “feasting with panthers,” as he put it: “the danger was half the excitement.”
وایلد دو تا مجموعه جداگانه به اسم the happy prince and other tales (سال 1888) و a house of pomegranates (سال 1891) چاپ میکنه که الان فهمیدم اولی نسخهی annotatedشدهاش رایگان توسط گوگل ارائه میشه!
حالا اینم بخشهای بولدترش برای من:
'How well you talk‘! said the Miller’s Wife, pouring herself out a large glass of warm ale; ’‘really I feel quite drowsy. It is just like being in church."
Nay, but God careth for the sparrows even, and feedeth them,” he answered.“Do not the sparrows die of hunger in the winter?” she asked. “And is it not winter now?”
خیلی جالبه واقعا اینجوری shade میندازه به کلیسا بعد کارهاش undertoneهای مسیحیت رو دارن. زندگینامهاش رو که نگاه میکنم منطقا باید خیلی نفرت میورزید به دین و مسیحیت ولی اینجا من ندیدم چنین چیزی. لایک یکی از کاراکتراش لجیت مسیح بود.
“Then he asked me who was the prophet of God, and I answered him Mohammed.“When he heard the name of the false prophet, he bowed and took me by the hand, and placed me by his side.
یک سری چیزهای جالب دیگه:
“In war,” answered the weaver, “the strong make slaves of the weak, and in peace the rich make slaves of the poor. We must work to live, and they give us such mean wages that we die, (...), We have chains, though no eye beholds them; and are slaves, though men call us free.”“Is it so with all?” he asked.“It is so with all,” answered the weaver, “with the young as well as with the old, with the women as well as with the men, with the little children as well as with those who are stricken in years. The merchants grind us down, and we must needs do their bidding. The priest rides by and tells his beads, and no man has care of us. Through our sunless lanes creeps Poverty with her hungry eyes, and Sin with his sodden face follows close behind her. Misery wakes us in the morning, and Shame sits with us at night. But what are these things to thee? Thou are not one of us. Thy face is too happy.”
"Should I not love also?” asked his Soul.
این سه تا هم خیلی metal بودن:
"Let us not tarry, but get hence at once, for the Sea-gods are jealous, and have monsters that do their bidding.”
“I told him that my desire was to see the god.“ ‘The god is hunting,’ said the priest, looking strangely at me with his small slanting eyes.“ ‘Tell me in what forest, and I will ride with him,’ I answered.“He combed out the soft fringes of his tunic with his long pointed nails. ‘The god is asleep,’ he murmured.“ ‘Tell me on what couch, and I will watch by him,’ I answered.“ ‘The God is at the feast,’ he cried.“ ‘If the wine be sweet I will drink it with him, and if it be bitter I will drink it with him also,’ was my answer.
“And I said to the priest, ‘Where is the god?’“And he answered me: ‘There is no god but this mirror that thou seest, for this is the Mirror of Wisdom. And it reflecteth all things that are in heaven and on earth, save only the face of him who looketh into it. This it reflecteth not, so that he who looketh into it may be wise. Many other mirrors are there, but they are mirrors of Opinion. This only is the Mirror of Wisdom. And they who possess this mirror know everything, nor is there anything hidden from them. And they who possess it not have not Wisdom. Therefore is it the god, and we worship it.’ And I looked into the mirror, and it was even as he had said to me.
بعد خیلی humour جالبی داره:
They did not understand a single word of what he was saying, but that made no matter, for they put their heads on one side, and looked wise, which is quite as good as understanding a thing, and very much easier.
at the Spanish Court, always noted for its cultivated passion for the horrible,
“I am rather afraid that I have annoyed him,” answered the Linnet. “The fact is, that I told him a story with a moral.” “Ah! that is always a very dangerous thing to do,” said the Duck.And I quite agree with her.
and the King gave orders that the Page’s salary was to be doubled. As he received no salary at all this was not of much use to him, but it was considered a great honour, and was duly published in the Court Gazette.
She was one of those people who think that, if you say the same thing over and over a great many times, it becomes true in the end.
“What is a sensitive person?” said the Cracker to the Roman Candle.“A person who, because he has corns himself, always treads on other people’s toes,”
“I was saying,” continued the Rocket, “I was saying—What was I saying?”“You were talking about yourself,” replied the Roman Candle.“Of course; I knew I was discussing some interesting subject when I was so rudely interrupted. I hate rudeness and bad manners of every kind, for I am extremely sensitive. No one in the whole world is so sensitive as I am, I am quite sure of that.”
He must have a truly romantic nature,” said the Catherine Wheel, “for he weeps when there is nothing at all to weep about”
The only thing that sustains one through life is the consciousness of the immense inferiority of everybody else, and this is a feeling that I have always cultivated.
Are not the rich and the poor brothers?” asked the young King.“Aye,” answered the man, “and the name of the rich brother is Cain.”
They did not understand a single word of what he was saying, but that made no matter, for they put their heads on one side, and looked wise, which is quite as good as understanding a thing, and very much easier.
Well, that is his loss, not mine,” answered the Rocket. “I am not going to stop talking to him merely because he pays no attention. I like hearing myself talk. It is one of my greatest pleasures. I often have long conversations all by myself, and I am so clever that sometimes I don’t understand a single word of what I am saying.”“Then you should certainly lecture on Philosophy,”
یاد پارسال حین و بعد اعتراضات افتادم:
“I am laughing because I am happy,” replied the Cracker.“That is a very selfish reason,” said the Rocket angrily. “What right have you to be happy? You should be thinking about others. In fact, you should be thinking about me. I am always thinking about myself, and I expect everybody else to do the same. That is what is called sympathy. It is a beautiful virtue, and I possess it in a high degree. Suppose, for instance, anything happened to me to-night, what a misfortune that would be for every one! The Prince and Princess would never be happy again, their whole married life would be spoiled; and as for the King, I know he would not get over it. Really, when I begin to reflect on the importance of my position, I am almost moved to tears.”
اینجاش هم که (if you know you know):
I have enjoyed our conversation very much, I assure you.”“Conversation, indeed!” said the Rocket. “You have talked the whole time yourself. That is not conversation.”“Somebody must listen,” answered the Frog, “and I like to do all the talking myself. It saves time, and prevents arguments.”“But I like arguments,” said the Rocket.“I hope not,” said the Frog complacently. “Arguments are extremely vulgar, for everybody in good society holds exactly the same opinions. ”
برام خیلی جالب بود که گویا مثل ما اعتقاد دارن اگر کف دست بخاره اتفاقی میفته:
By the itching of her palm the young Witch knew his coming,
وایلد پایهگذار aesthetisism بود و این توی همین افسانههاش با تاکیدی که روی زیبایی و art for the sake of art داره مشهوده:
that the secrets of art are best learned in secret, and that Beauty, like Wisdom, loves the lonely worshipper.
one who was seeking to find in beauty an anodyne from pain, a sort of restoration from sickness.
دیدگاهش نسبت به عشق فرق میکنه داستان به داستان و از زوایای مختلف نتایج مختلف عاشقی رو نشون میده. گاهی یک طرفهاست و حتی توی happy prince جفت طرفین ضمیر he دارن =)
گاهی به بدبختی میانجامه و گاهی همه چیز دیزنیوار تموم میشه. چیز ثابتش devotion عاشق به معشوقه.
For her body I would give my soul, and for her love I would surrender heaven.
Any place you love is the world to you.
“but love is not fashionable any more, the poets have killed it. They wrote so much about it that nobody believed them, and I am not surprised. True love suffers, and is silent. I remember myself once—But it is no matter now. Romance is a thing of the past.”
حالا speaking of gay couples موقع توصیف کارکترهای مذکر خیلی homoerotic مینویسه =) و مثلا ابایی نداره از این که کاراکترش موقع تحسین کردن زیبایی، مردا رو هم تحسین کنه:
and had flung himself back with a deep sigh of relief on the soft cushions of his embroidered couch, lying there, wild-eyed and open-mouthed, like a brown woodland Faun.
It was a man dressed in a suit of black velvet, cut in the Spanish fashion. His face was strangely pale, but his lips were like a proud red flower. He seemed weary, and was leaning back toying in a listless manner with the pommel of his dagger. On the grass beside him lay a plumed hat, and a pair of riding gloves gauntleted with gilt lace, and sewn with seed-pearls wrought into a curious device. A short cloak lined with sables hung from his shoulder, and his delicate white hands were gemmed with rings. Heavy eyelids drooped over his eyes.
and after a lengthened search had been discovered in a little chamber in one of the northern turrets of the palace gazing, as one in a trance, at a Greek gem carved with the figure of Adonis.
و خب این نترس بودنش رو نه تنها در سبک نوشتاریش بلکه در وقایع زندگیش (که در نهایت به محکومیت به زندان منجر شد) و دیگر جملات و عقایدش هم میشه دید:
"Wickedness is a myth invented by good people to account for the curious attractiveness of others."
From the middle of the 1880s, he spent less time with his wife and family and more time cultivating the company of young men. Some were of his social class; some were not. “I want to eat of all the fruit of all the trees in the garden of the world,” he said. As the years went by, he took increasing risks. He relished “feasting with panthers,” as he put it: “the danger was half the excitement.”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 17, 2022
Emeralds, pearls, amethysts, opals, sapphires, silver moons, mauve robes with gilt lace, golden sceptres, vermillion-wrought tapestries, curious perfumes and anthropomorphic flowers - all props that adorn the Wildean stage. ‘The Complete Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde’ is a compilation of short-stories/parables; each one unique and brimming with wit, mirth and melancholy.
Every conceivable object bearing aesthetic beauty is illuminated with exquisite detail; dripping with opulence, intrigue, and often, used in juxtaposition with traits of human virtue or vice to tell a particular moral. Such is the case in “The Young King” who, basking in the splendour of his palatial surroundings, succumbs to afternoon ennui and falls into a deep sleep the day before his coronation.
The King is tormented by three dreams which, upon waking, serve as the impetus to dispense with his royal garments and show greater humility in understanding the privations of his subjects. He is perplexed to find that he is derided as a madman and told to, “go back to thy Palace and put on thy purple and fine linen.” He instead makes haste to the cathedral and still in the apparel of a beggar, supplicates himself before the figure of Christ and prays. Thence his transfiguration is complete:
“And lo! Through the painted windows came the sunlight streaming upon him, and the sunbeams wove round him a tossed robe that was fairer than the robe that had been fashioned for his pleasure. The dead staff blossomed, and bare lilies that were whiter than pearls. The dry thorn blossomed, and bare roses that were redder than rubies…
He stood there in raiment of a king, and the gates of the jewelled shrine flew open, and from the Crystal of the many-rayed monstrance shone a marvellous snd mystical light.. the trumpeters blew upon their trumpets, and the singing boys sang…and all the people fell upon their knees in awe…”
These stories are exquisitely written; the breadth of Wilde’s imagination is glorious. The surrealism in ‘The Fisherman and his Soul’ is evocative, beguiling, and eminently Daliesque; whilst the theme is distinctly Faustian. Well worth an investment of your time.
Every conceivable object bearing aesthetic beauty is illuminated with exquisite detail; dripping with opulence, intrigue, and often, used in juxtaposition with traits of human virtue or vice to tell a particular moral. Such is the case in “The Young King” who, basking in the splendour of his palatial surroundings, succumbs to afternoon ennui and falls into a deep sleep the day before his coronation.
The King is tormented by three dreams which, upon waking, serve as the impetus to dispense with his royal garments and show greater humility in understanding the privations of his subjects. He is perplexed to find that he is derided as a madman and told to, “go back to thy Palace and put on thy purple and fine linen.” He instead makes haste to the cathedral and still in the apparel of a beggar, supplicates himself before the figure of Christ and prays. Thence his transfiguration is complete:
“And lo! Through the painted windows came the sunlight streaming upon him, and the sunbeams wove round him a tossed robe that was fairer than the robe that had been fashioned for his pleasure. The dead staff blossomed, and bare lilies that were whiter than pearls. The dry thorn blossomed, and bare roses that were redder than rubies…
He stood there in raiment of a king, and the gates of the jewelled shrine flew open, and from the Crystal of the many-rayed monstrance shone a marvellous snd mystical light.. the trumpeters blew upon their trumpets, and the singing boys sang…and all the people fell upon their knees in awe…”
These stories are exquisitely written; the breadth of Wilde’s imagination is glorious. The surrealism in ‘The Fisherman and his Soul’ is evocative, beguiling, and eminently Daliesque; whilst the theme is distinctly Faustian. Well worth an investment of your time.
March 28, 2012
In 4,500 reviews there's an average rating of 4.25.... I have no idea how this is. These fairy tales lack any signs of creativity. They're written with a fleeting sense of commitment. Like he had an idea for a morality play turned it a fantastical fairy tale and just hoped for the best. I have little ground to stand on here since I've never read the complete fairy tales of any writer and have never read anything from Oscar Wilde, but it was a painful 225 pages. Each adventure I'd start saying to myself, okay this one here will be a famous one or a step above the rest and four pages in I'd either see the entire plot right before me or would be too bored to care.
Avoid this book unless you know EXACTLY what you're in for and are still looking forward to it.
Avoid this book unless you know EXACTLY what you're in for and are still looking forward to it.
May 22, 2020
"Ah, on what little things does happiness depend!"
"Travel improves the mind wonderfully, and does away with all one's prejudices."
"the secrets of art are best learned in secret, and that Beauty, like Wisdom, loves the lonely worshipper."
"'In war,' answered the weaver, 'the strong make slaves of the weak, and in peace the rich make slaves of the poor.'"
"'The burden of this world is too great for one man to bear, and the world's sorrow too heavy for one heart to suffer.'"
"Injustice has parcelled out the world, nor is there equal division of aught save of sorrow."
"'Into a house where a heart is hard cometh there not always a bitter wind?'"
"Travel improves the mind wonderfully, and does away with all one's prejudices."
"the secrets of art are best learned in secret, and that Beauty, like Wisdom, loves the lonely worshipper."
"'In war,' answered the weaver, 'the strong make slaves of the weak, and in peace the rich make slaves of the poor.'"
"'The burden of this world is too great for one man to bear, and the world's sorrow too heavy for one heart to suffer.'"
"Injustice has parcelled out the world, nor is there equal division of aught save of sorrow."
"'Into a house where a heart is hard cometh there not always a bitter wind?'"
December 21, 2022
Very interesting stories in the best traditions of fairy tales. Many of them are a bit dark with some twist in the end.
A lot of these also seem to have some Irisk folklore, which I did not mind.
I much prefer these sort of children's stories and think they offer more to a child's mind than modern "by the power of friendship, the evil will always be defeated and the prince will always save the princess" stuff. If I am ever blessed with a husband and then children, I'd definitely read these to them.
A lot of these also seem to have some Irisk folklore, which I did not mind.
I much prefer these sort of children's stories and think they offer more to a child's mind than modern "by the power of friendship, the evil will always be defeated and the prince will always save the princess" stuff. If I am ever blessed with a husband and then children, I'd definitely read these to them.
November 17, 2024
"Partly for children, and partly for those who have kept the childlike faculties of wonder and joy" Oscar Wilde
In the Complete Fairy Tales you will find some of the most beautiful and heartbreaking stories told through the unique and distinguished words of Oscar Wilde. These fairy tales will make you feel a wave of emotions that you didn't expect, as they are filled with the painful realities of the world. Injustice, hate, forgiveness, love, good and evil but told through fantastic characters in a magical world with a different moral that will make you see the world in a different way.
In the Complete Fairy Tales you will find some of the most beautiful and heartbreaking stories told through the unique and distinguished words of Oscar Wilde. These fairy tales will make you feel a wave of emotions that you didn't expect, as they are filled with the painful realities of the world. Injustice, hate, forgiveness, love, good and evil but told through fantastic characters in a magical world with a different moral that will make you see the world in a different way.
November 24, 2022
I really like the content of the book! The humour and refined writing style of Oscar Wilde are simply brilliant. You can smile almost continuously, write down the quotes and think about it.
(Thanks to Net Galley for this Book).
(Thanks to Net Galley for this Book).
June 27, 2024
Given to me because family member did the beautiful cover art. Well written of course because it's Wilde but I can't say I "enjoyed" it as much as some stories. They're in the more depressing region even for fairy tales and too religious for my tastes.
April 15, 2017
Really enjoyed these stories.
June 26, 2018
Embora algumas histórias deixem transparecer a ironia e o sarcasmo que tanto amamos em Oscar Wilde, algumas chegam a ser irreconhecíveis de tanto que enfocam nos bons valores e na moral da história.
July 15, 2022
Oscar Wilde is a pure genius. I have no idea how someone could write such beautiful and sad stories. 100% recommend all of them!!!
January 30, 2023
Wilde's writing never disappoints. I laughed a lot reading some of his tales, even though most end up in great tragedy. My favorite were The Happy Prince and The Remarkable Rocket.
July 3, 2024
Hey Oscar... Mr Wilde is everything okay...
October 13, 2025
omg okay so I was going to split this up as I read each story but there's a character limit for updates lolz so I'm reviewing the rest here:
"The Devoted Friend": 8/10
- god this was so frustrating to read. But I love the fact that it's told by animals. It's like their perspective of human nature. Little Hans was too sweet. Also love the bar "friendship never forgets", shit hits.
"The Remarkable Rocket": 7/10
- took me way too long to realize it was fireworks and not humans talking. I was so confused lmao. Also learned that faggot means a bunch of sticks. So like...how'd the meaning change. Also love the fact that the rocket could not be set off bc it was CRYING haha #sorelatable
"The Young Prince": 10/10
- This was such a sweet and touching story. I really enjoyed the reflection of dreams in this one. Also sooo many quotes I could pull from this that are just beautifulll. I like "Shall Joy wear what Grief has fashioned?" ugh wow and so applicable today with consumerism and understanding where ur shit comes from
"The Birthday of the Infanta": 9/10
- ok why do I feel maternal for this dwarf? lil dude just wanted to be accepted and loved. And bro did not see a problem with himself until he realized it was bc he was treated differently that there was something "wrong" with him. Bleh this was a cute & sad & depressing. I see myself in the dwarf, and I think most people can
"The Fisherman and His Soul": 9/10
- ok I love the word "nought" lets bring that shi back! Also, I fucking loved the dialogue in this lmaoo I read it as if I were Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe in "The Lighthouse" teehee great movie btw. Crazy story though, definitely inspired by the little mermaid og story (sea-maid?). I really liked the fairytale elements of this one. Good sturffff
"The Star Child": 8/10
- This one was good ish. Like morally a great story and the ending was superb. It was kind of annoying to read the parts when he was all vain but I'm glad he turned around #charcterdevelopment #swag
Overall I really liked this book, very diff read for me I guess? I mean I don't really read much but I can't remember the last time I read something quite like this. Honestly a book I think anyone at any age should read. Or at least the stories individually. Most of them were pretty short but still had a lot of depth (?) to them. Idk I miss being immersed in fairytales like this. I think that's why I love Shrek so much. Shoutout Shrek
"The Devoted Friend": 8/10
- god this was so frustrating to read. But I love the fact that it's told by animals. It's like their perspective of human nature. Little Hans was too sweet. Also love the bar "friendship never forgets", shit hits.
"The Remarkable Rocket": 7/10
- took me way too long to realize it was fireworks and not humans talking. I was so confused lmao. Also learned that faggot means a bunch of sticks. So like...how'd the meaning change. Also love the fact that the rocket could not be set off bc it was CRYING haha #sorelatable
"The Young Prince": 10/10
- This was such a sweet and touching story. I really enjoyed the reflection of dreams in this one. Also sooo many quotes I could pull from this that are just beautifulll. I like "Shall Joy wear what Grief has fashioned?" ugh wow and so applicable today with consumerism and understanding where ur shit comes from
"The Birthday of the Infanta": 9/10
- ok why do I feel maternal for this dwarf? lil dude just wanted to be accepted and loved. And bro did not see a problem with himself until he realized it was bc he was treated differently that there was something "wrong" with him. Bleh this was a cute & sad & depressing. I see myself in the dwarf, and I think most people can
"The Fisherman and His Soul": 9/10
- ok I love the word "nought" lets bring that shi back! Also, I fucking loved the dialogue in this lmaoo I read it as if I were Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe in "The Lighthouse" teehee great movie btw. Crazy story though, definitely inspired by the little mermaid og story (sea-maid?). I really liked the fairytale elements of this one. Good sturffff
"The Star Child": 8/10
- This one was good ish. Like morally a great story and the ending was superb. It was kind of annoying to read the parts when he was all vain but I'm glad he turned around #charcterdevelopment #swag
Overall I really liked this book, very diff read for me I guess? I mean I don't really read much but I can't remember the last time I read something quite like this. Honestly a book I think anyone at any age should read. Or at least the stories individually. Most of them were pretty short but still had a lot of depth (?) to them. Idk I miss being immersed in fairytales like this. I think that's why I love Shrek so much. Shoutout Shrek
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