Wilde simultaneously dismissed and encouraged such criticism with his statement in the preface, 'There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. During this period he wrote, among others, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891), his only novel, which scandalized many readers and was widely denounced as immoral. In 1884 he married Constance Lloyd, the daughter of an Irish lawyer, and within two years they had two sons. His first published volume, Poems, which met with some degree of approbation, appeared at this time. Largely on the strength of his public persona, Wilde undertook a lecture tour to the United States in 1882, where he saw his play Vera open-unsuccessfully-in New York. By 1879 he was already known as a wit and a dandy soon after, in fact, he was satirized in Gilbert and Sullivan's Patience. He subsequently won a scholarship to Magdalen College, Oxford, where he was heavily influenced by John Ruskin and Walter Pater, whose aestheticism was taken to its radical extreme in Wilde's work.

He was born to a middle-class Irish family (his father was a surgeon) and was trained as a scholarship boy at Trinity College, Dublin. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.Flamboyant man-about-town, Oscar Wilde had a reputation that preceded him, especially in his early career. In addition to Dorian Gray, this volume represents all these genres, including such works as Lady Windermere's Fan and The Importance of Being Earnest, 'The Happy Prince', 'The Critic as Artist', and 'The Ballad of Reading Gaol'.ĪBOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. His talent was prodigious: the author of brilliant social comedies, fairy stories, critical dialogues, poems, and a novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Oscar Wilde's dramatic private life has sometimes threatened to overshadow his great literary achievements. It brings together a unique combination of Wilde's poetry and prose short stories, plays, critical dialogues and his only novel - to give the essence of his work and thinking. This authoritative edition was formerly published in the acclaimed Oxford Authors series under the general editorship of Frank Kermode.

The Major Works by Oscar Wilde