Synopses & Reviews
A definitive new collection of Oscar Wilde’s best prison letters and poetry, with an introduction by Colm Toibin Bankrupt and with his reputation in ruins, Oscar Wilde wrote the astonishing letter “De Profundis” to his lover, Lord Alfred Douglas, while in prison. Editor Colm Toibin, the acclaimed author of
The Blackwater Lightship,
The Master, and
Brooklyn, describes it as Wilde’s “greatest piece of prose writing.” Also included is “The Ballad of Reading Gaol,” Wilde’s most famous poem and one of the greatest ballads in the English language, as well as other letters Wilde wrote from prison that reveal the true effects of incarceration on the people he met. Based on the Penguin Classics edition of the
Complete Letters, this collection features a new introduction, notes, and appendices.
Synopsis
Oscar Wilde-witty raconteur, flamboyant hedonist, and self-destructive lover-is most familiar as the author of brilliant comedies, including
The Importance of Being Earnest,
An Ideal Husband, and the decadent novel
The Picture of Dorian Gray. This selection of critical writings reveals a different side of the great writer-the deep and serious reader of literature and philosophy, and the eloquent and original thinker about society and art. This illuminating collection includes "The Portrait of Mr. W. H.," "In Defense of Dorian Gray," reviews, and the writings from
Intentions (1891), including "The Decay of Lying," "Pen, Pencil, Poison," and "The Critic as Artist."
Synopsis
Illuminating essays on philsophy, literature, soceity, and art by one of Ireland's greatest wits
Oscar Wilde witty raconteur, flamboyant hedonist, and self-destructive lover is most familiar as the author of brilliant comedies, including The Importance of Being Earnest, An Ideal Husband, and the decadent novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. This selection of critical writings reveals a different side of the great writer the deep and serious reader of literature and philosophy, and the eloquent and original thinker about society and art. This illuminating collection includes "The Portrait of Mr. W. H.," "In Defense of Dorian Gray," reviews, and the writings from Intentions(1891), including "The Decay of Lying," "Pen, Pencil, Poison," and "The Critic as Artist."
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust theseries to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-datetranslations by award-winning translators."
Synopsis
Selection includes The Portrait of Mr W.H., Wilde's defence of Dorian Gray, reviews, and the writings from 'Intentions' (1891): 'The Decay of Lying, 'Pen, Pencil, Poison', and 'The Critic as Artist'.
Wilde is familiar to us as the ironic critic behind the social comedies, as the creator of the beautiful and doomed Dorian Gray, as the flamboyant aesthete and the demonised homosexual. This volume presents us with a different Wilde. Wilde emerges here as a deep and serious reader of literature and philosophy, and an eloquent and original thinker about society and art.
Synopsis
A definitive new collection of Oscar Wilde’s best prison letters and poetry, with an introduction by Colm Toibin Bankrupt and with his reputation in ruins, Oscar Wilde wrote the astonishing letter “De Profundis” to his lover, Lord Alfred Douglas, while in prison. Editor Colm Toibin, the acclaimed author of
The Blackwater Lightship,
The Master, and
Brooklyn, describes it as Wilde’s “greatest piece of prose writing.” Also included is “The Ballad of Reading Gaol,” Wilde’s most famous poem and one of the greatest ballads in the English language, as well as other letters Wilde wrote from prison that reveal the true effects of incarceration on the people he met. Based on the Penguin Classics edition of the
Complete Letters, this collection features a new introduction, notes, and appendices.
About the Author
Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) was the author of the novel
The Picture of Dorian Gray and several well-loved plays, including
An Ideal Husband and
The Importance of Being Earnest. Colm Toibin is the author of The Blackwater Lightship and The Master, both shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, among other books. He lives in Dublin.
Table of Contents
The Soul of Man under Socialism and Selected Critical Prose Introduction
Note on the Texts
Eight Reviews (1885-90)
1. Mr. Whistler's Ten o'Clock
2. The Relation of Dress to Art
3. A Sentimental Journey through Literature
4. Mr. Pater's Imaginary Portraits
5. [The Actor as Critic]
6. Poetical Socialists
7. Mr. Swinburne's Last Volume
8. Mr. Pater's Last Volume
The Portrait of Mr. W. H. (expanded version 1889)
In Defence of Dorian Gray (1890-91)
The Soul of Man Under Socialism (1891)
Intentions (1891)
1. The Decay of Lying
2. Pen, Pencil and Poison
3. The Critic as Artist - Part I
The Critic as Artist - Part II
4. The Truth of Masks
Notes
Further Reading