The Importance of Being Earnest

Hardback

Main Details

Title The Importance of Being Earnest
Authors and Contributors      By (author) Oscar Wilde
Volume editor Patricia Hern
Volume editor Glenda Leeming
SeriesStudent Editions
Physical Properties
Format:Hardback
Pages:144
Dimensions(mm): Height 198,Width 129
Category/GenrePlays, playscripts
ISBN/Barcode 9781474260756
ClassificationsDewey:822.8
Audience
General

Publishing Details

Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Imprint Methuen Drama
Publication Date 28 January 2016
Publication Country United Kingdom

Description

Wilde's "trivial play for serious people" is a sparkling comedy of manners. This hilariously absurd satire pits sincerity against style, barbed witticisms against ostentatious elegance. Wilde's brilliantly constructed plot and famous dialogue enrich the appeal of his celebrated characters, as he turns accepted ideas inside out and situations upside down in this, his masterpiece. The Student Edition offers a plot summary, full commentary, character notes and questions for study, besides a chronology and bibliography.

Author Biography

Oscar Wilde was born in Dublin in 1856. In the years following his graduation from Oxford in 1878 he published poems and stories which included The Picture of Dorian Gray. Lady Windermere's Fan was produced in 1892, A Woman of No Importance in 1893 and An Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Earnest in 1895. Later work included De Profundis and The Ballad of Reading Gaol. He died in 1900.

Reviews

the wittiest play in the English language * Financial Times * Comes as close to perfection as any comedy I can think of. * Daily Telegraph *