My rating:
add to my books
Loading...
The Happy Prince and Other Tales
by
Oscar Wilde
The Happy Prince is the tale of a young nobleman, who in life sought only pleasure but in death, as a gold-encrusted statue, provides aid to the needy. Also included are The Nightingale and the Rose, The Selfish Giant, The Devoted Friend, and The Remarkable Rocket. Newly designed and typeset in a modern 5.5-by-8.5-inch format by Waking Lion Press.
Paperback, 64 pages
Published
August 3rd 2006
by Waking Lion Press
(first published May 1st 1888)
There is a good chance some of your friends read this book. Sign in to see!
sign in »
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is currently not featured on any Listopia lists.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
7,426)
The popular author of The Book Thief, Markus Zusak aptly says in his introduction of this book: "There's something in these fairy tales that reminds me why any of us would want to be readers and writers in the first place, and that is that, the more amazing the stories become, the more I believe them, and the more I realize that I won't forget them." For me, these stories are truly unforgettable!
The Happy Prince : 5 stars (Amazing!)
A formerly rich and only child...more
The Happy Prince : 5 stars (Amazing!)
A formerly rich and only child...more
This is a beautiful little collection of stories. I thought I'd never read any of them, but I'd definitely read "The Selfish Giant" before, and some of the others seemed familiar. The stories are all a little like fairy tales, though, so that's probably part of it.
My favourites were "The Nightingale and the Rose" and "The Fisherman and His Soul", I think. All of them are lovely, though. I especially like the beginning of Star-Child. Some of the lines in ...more
My favourites were "The Nightingale and the Rose" and "The Fisherman and His Soul", I think. All of them are lovely, though. I especially like the beginning of Star-Child. Some of the lines in ...more
I came upon it in my grandmother's library when I was a kid. Read it furtively, convinced it was dangerous stuff. Read it compulsively, swept away.
Wilde Wilde Wide, what would I have done without your awesome books?
This book has five short- kinda childish stories all are awesomely-written and all got a moral or two..
Despite the fact that these stories were written for children - and by that I mean there's animals and inanimate objects talking-, I couldn't stop myself from not getting too emotional with the characters and the sarcasm each story ended with.
As usual Oscar discuses social-psychological thoughts ...more
This book has five short- kinda childish stories all are awesomely-written and all got a moral or two..
Despite the fact that these stories were written for children - and by that I mean there's animals and inanimate objects talking-, I couldn't stop myself from not getting too emotional with the characters and the sarcasm each story ended with.
As usual Oscar discuses social-psychological thoughts ...more
This was one of my favorite collections as a child, and I spent many happy hours reading and re-reading the short stories contained in this volume. The Nightingale and the Rose was a joy to read, as was The Happy Prince, but my favorite by far was The Selfish Giant. Even now, after fifty decades of life, I find myself occasionally going back to re-read this beautiful little story of the walled in giant whose heart was softened by love. It has so much of such importance to teach about the well-li...more
I read this book because it was recommended by a friend with wonderful taste. I definitely loved the stories, somehow Wilde's style lends itself to this type of story where the symbolism and descriptions have to carry the meaning behind the tales. They were definitely interesting stories that sometimes made me wonder if I was taking them too seriously (I can imagine Wilde sitting back and smirking to himself as he wrote them. . . )
Anyway, one story about an obnoxious rocket bragging...more
Anyway, one story about an obnoxious rocket bragging...more
Inhalt:
Die Sammlung enthält fünf Kunstmärchen von Oscar Wilde:
"Der glückliche Prinz", die Statue eines Prinzen, besetzt mit Edelsteinen und Gold, bittet einen Zugvogel diese wertvollen Steine zu den armen Menschen zu bringen.
"Die Nachtigall und die Rose", ein Student möchte seiner Angebeteten eine wunderschöne Rose schenken und findet eine Nachtigall, die für ihn eine Rose mit ihrem Blut färbt.
"Der selbstsüchtige Riese", in seinem Garten, der fü...more
Die Sammlung enthält fünf Kunstmärchen von Oscar Wilde:
"Der glückliche Prinz", die Statue eines Prinzen, besetzt mit Edelsteinen und Gold, bittet einen Zugvogel diese wertvollen Steine zu den armen Menschen zu bringen.
"Die Nachtigall und die Rose", ein Student möchte seiner Angebeteten eine wunderschöne Rose schenken und findet eine Nachtigall, die für ihn eine Rose mit ihrem Blut färbt.
"Der selbstsüchtige Riese", in seinem Garten, der fü...more
from "The Fisherman and His Soul"
"And one evening [the Fisherman] called to her, and said,'Little Mermaid, little Mermaid, I love thee. Take me for thy bridegroom, for I love thee.'
"But the Mermaid shook her head. 'Thou hast a human soul,' she answered. 'If only thou would'st send away thy soul, then could I love thee.'
"And the young Fisherman said to himself, 'Of what use is my soul to me? I cannot see it. I may not touch it. I do not know it. Su...more
"And one evening [the Fisherman] called to her, and said,'Little Mermaid, little Mermaid, I love thee. Take me for thy bridegroom, for I love thee.'
"But the Mermaid shook her head. 'Thou hast a human soul,' she answered. 'If only thou would'st send away thy soul, then could I love thee.'
"And the young Fisherman said to himself, 'Of what use is my soul to me? I cannot see it. I may not touch it. I do not know it. Su...more
Wilde is a brilliant writer and this book is no exception. There's a bit too much Catholicism in this book for my taste, but it doesn't really distract from the stories at all. Every story is sad, and beware reading this to kids until you've read through it first. It doesn't shy away from killing off the most sympathetic character, or having them suffer trials and tribulations without any happy ending. These stories are tender and touching paeans to love and sacrifice written with such poignancy...more
I never knew that beneath Oscar Wilde's glib persona was a hopeless and wounded romantic. Half of these stories are utterly heart breaking, but they're also beautifully written and remark upon a few of the more unfortunate aspects of society that are still pertinent issues today. Brace yourself for terrible things happening to good people who are then rewarded in the afterlife after they die tragically, but other than that enjoy a "good read".
What I learned:
I have been in a fit of deliberation as to how I would rate these tales. I am ashamed to say that I first wanted to give this five stars for the mere magnificence of the author. I say ashamed because ever since the preface of The Picture of Dorian Gray, I have shared a belief that, although an artist cannot ever create a piece of art without putting his or her self into it, each piece of art can and should only ever be criticized for the ideas it has been loaned. I have than...more
I have been in a fit of deliberation as to how I would rate these tales. I am ashamed to say that I first wanted to give this five stars for the mere magnificence of the author. I say ashamed because ever since the preface of The Picture of Dorian Gray, I have shared a belief that, although an artist cannot ever create a piece of art without putting his or her self into it, each piece of art can and should only ever be criticized for the ideas it has been loaned. I have than...more
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 verse...more
I love me some Oscar Wilde and stumbled upon this collection in the children's library. Though it is aimed at a younger audience it's still full of Wilde's signature wit and memorable characters.
The stories' all have distinct themes ranging from charity (The Happy Prince), love (the Nightingale and the Rose), kindness (The selfish Giant), selfishness and generousity (The Devoted Friend) and pride (The Remarkable Rocket).
The great thing about Wilde is his ability to captur...more
The stories' all have distinct themes ranging from charity (The Happy Prince), love (the Nightingale and the Rose), kindness (The selfish Giant), selfishness and generousity (The Devoted Friend) and pride (The Remarkable Rocket).
The great thing about Wilde is his ability to captur...more
“Oscar Wilde offended Victorian society by producing works of social mockery, aside from living a scandalous life. Although Wilde's fairy tales were intended for a young audience, they contain social overtones that most children would not understand, but that are meant to project a higher social ethic upon later generations. The criticism of the Victorian society in Wilde's fairy tales is apparent in the parallels between the situations he imagines and real-life situations, and also in the high ...more
Short stories for children - though I would recommend for older children. May have to borrow someone's children to try one or two out on...would be interesting to see how today's children interpret these stories (I myself am still struggling with "The Nightingale and the Rose").
It's sometimes hard to read--you can almost see Oscar Wilde mentally beating himself up while he's writing some of these stories, particularly when he writes about beauty. He wrote some of these while in prison, after all. But they're beautiful stories, and my favorite has always been The Happy Prince. Never fails to make me cry.
This collection contains the two collections of fairy tales that Wilde published in his lifetime: the Happy Prince and Other Stories, and A House of Pomegranates.
It seems to me so far that the first collection is clearly superior to the second, the luminous truth and sharp observation draws tears to the eyes of the reader of the first collection, whilst the second seems to wander vaguely towards meaning which is often curtailed in its relevance by the extremity of the characters depicted....more
It seems to me so far that the first collection is clearly superior to the second, the luminous truth and sharp observation draws tears to the eyes of the reader of the first collection, whilst the second seems to wander vaguely towards meaning which is often curtailed in its relevance by the extremity of the characters depicted....more
O Serendipity! How grateful I am for thee! I was at the library yesterday with a printout of my Goodreads "to read" shelf, and Milwood had not a one of them. The APL system itself was also decidedly unhelpful and my lunchtime clock was ticking, so I completed my request for an audio copy of "The Importance of Being Earnest" to be sent to Milwood and in the process, stumbled upon this gem in the catalog. Lo and behold it was actually available and on the shelf. For anyon...more
I might be very boring and predictable, but hey, it's obvious: I mainly remember "The Happy Prince" and "The Selfish Giant" among all the stories. Which is why I didn't click all the 5 stars, I guess (shame on me). I must be honest and say that even nowadays - and long gone are the childhood days - I end up crying whenever I read these two stories. Wilde was a great character as well as a writer, so modern they couldn't understand him at his times, but here he seems to be sit...more
Relyn
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
fairy tale lovers
Recommended to Relyn by:
A Common Reader
I recently went through an old, old pre-GoodReads To Read list I made based on A Common Reader catalog. I requested all the books my library had from that list. Out of over 100 books on the list, my library owned about 7 of them. That's stunning since our local library cooperative has EXTENSIVE holdings. Oh, I miss A Common Reader. It is where I discovered many, many of my favorite books. It's funny that it was called A Common Reader when their choices were absolutely anything but. Oh, I ...more
I think Oscar Wilde is a fantastic writer, and it shows brilliantly through everything he writes, though I must admit I'm not much the fairy tale type. There were some of his tales that literally had me in tears, such as The Selfish Giant, and others that were truly beautiful and I could reread a thousand times, like The Star-Child. I could go on forever on how unique some of his work is, but the fact that tales aren't much of my thing makes it hard for me to enjoy it. Don't get me wrong - I did...more
A bit too whimsical for my liking, but it's not to say that such has in turn compromised the prose. I especially enjoyed his personification in The Selfish Giant.
Wilde does some pretty groovy fables. The Selfish Giant is my fave but none of them are to be sneezed at.
I could squirt some tears just thinking about a couple of these stories.
The fairy tales within this book are sheer magic.
These are a really strange collection of fairytales! The morals are not as clear as in other writers works and I did find some of the stories rather weird. Despite the hidden morals, the writting is beautiful and very descriptive with really elaborate descriptions which are written in a really lovely way. However, I was rather bewildered by some of the tales. I dont think I will be reading these again despite the elaborate descriptions despite the beautiful descriptions which, for me, were t...more
so pious, OW!! and i tell you i loooooove me some OW. the intro in my edition quoted OW as saying these fairy tales were a study in prose. i can understand that. i can respect that. they got prose in spades! but i cannot embrace these as great fairy tales. several of the stories, most notably 'the birthday of the infanta" and "the fisherman and his soul", have too much fluff that is extraneous to the story. loooong and detailed descriptions that can only be forgiven as 'pros...more
Heartbreakingly beautifully written.
life is bittersweet..indeed
I've been an Oscar Wilde fan for years and have read "The Picture of Dorian Gray" several times, and "The Importance of Being Ernest" so many times I practically have it memorized. But this collection of little stories is so unlike Wilde's other work that I wouldn't have believed he wrote this if his name hadn't been on the cover.
The stories are written in an almost liturgical style, like they're old stories left out of the Bible. They're beautiful, they're dry, th...more
The stories are written in an almost liturgical style, like they're old stories left out of the Bible. They're beautiful, they're dry, th...more
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish playwright, poet and author of numerous short stories and one novel. Known for his biting wit, he became one of the most successful playwrights of the late Victorian era in London, and one of the greatest celebrities of his day. Several of his plays continue to be widely performed, especially The Importance of Being Earnest. As the result of a wide...more
More about Oscar Wilde...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“Life is one fool thing after another whereas love is two fool things after each other.”
—
60 people liked it
“Love is not fashionable anymore; the poets have killed it.”
—
24 people liked it
More quotes…
May 12, 2011 06:12am
Jul 05, 2011 12:18am