Oscar Wilde

Sylvan Barnet

Pays tribute to Wilde's genius, his penchant for scandal, and his timeless wit by featuring five major plays, including "The Importance of Being Earnest" and "An Ideal Husband," two interviews, and selected criticism.

Selected Plays and Literary Criticism

The Best of Oscar Wilde

Ley Stanton

I let my boyfriend pick my first read of the year and I did start this at the beginning of January. However, I did love Oscar Wilde's plays as much as I love The Portrait of Dorian Gray. After reading the first play, I lost the will to continue reading because I disliked Salome so much. It might have taken nearly three months to read five plays but I have finally finished this collection. I think it will be a while before I pick up Wilde again, this just made me realize that I don't like his plays as much as his fiction. Though I did enjoy two of the plays immensely, the rest fell a little flat for me. 
Salomé ⭐️ - This play was super weird and honestly made me want to quit before I read any of his more iconic plays. I wish I had just skipped this one.
Lady Windermere’s Fan ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Probably my favorite in this entire collection. Miscommunication was just used to perfectly here.
A Woman of No Importance ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Another fantastic one. So much satire when it comes to high society, it doesn't even seem like the characters know that they are making fun of themselves.
An Ideal Husband ⭐️⭐️ - This one started out so strong but just lost steam as it went so I had a hard time finishing it, I just got really bored.
The Importance of Being Ernest ⭐️⭐️⭐️ - This is my boyfriend's favorite play but I just didn't love it as much. The last act was great but the rest was just really annoying, the characters were getting on my nerves.

The Best of Oscar Wilde Selected Plays and Literary Criticism

Reviews