Oscar Wilde

Born

in Dublin, Ireland

October 16, 1854

Died

November 30, 1900

Website

http://www.cmgww.com/historic/wilde/

Genre

Theatre, Poetry, Fiction

Influences

Balzac, Walter Pater, Edgar Allan Poe, John Ruskin, Peter Kropotkin, ...more

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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, and a plentitude of aphorisms, 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 widely covered series of trials, Wilde suffered a dramatic downfall and was imprisoned for two years hard labour after being convicted of "gross indecency" with other men. After Wilde was released from prison he set sail for Dieppe by the night ferry. He never returned to Ireland or Britain, and died in poverty.

Combine Editions
Oscar Wilde’s books

Average rating: 4.1 · 1,711,503 ratings · 60,653 reviews · 3,555 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Picture of Dorian Gray 4.08 avg rating — 977,295 ratings — published 1890 — 7731 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Importance of Being Earnest 4.18 avg rating — 303,969 ratings — published 1895 — 3566 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays by Oscar Wilde, Richard Allen Cave (Commentary) 4.25 avg rating — 47,273 ratings — published 1898 — 72 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	An Ideal Husband 4.04 avg rating — 36,301 ratings — published 1893 — 28 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde, Inga Moore (Illustrator), Giada Riondino (Translator) 3.89 avg rating — 42,457 ratings — published 1887 — 2461 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Happy Prince 4.23 avg rating — 26,220 ratings — published 1888 — 308 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Lady Windermere's Fan 3.92 avg rating — 18,967 ratings — published 1893 — 660 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Complete Works of Oscar Wilde by Oscar Wilde, Merlin Holland (Introduction) 4.48 avg rating — 13,958 ratings — published 1908 — 175 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Complete Fairy Tales 4.33 avg rating — 10,953 ratings — published 1891 — 70 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Happy Prince and Other Tales 4.14 avg rating — 15,589 ratings — published 1888 — 1816 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Oscar Wilde…

In most historical romances, love and marriage go together like...well, a horse and carriage. But what if the girl part of the girl-meets-boy...

Quotes by Oscar Wilde

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”
― Oscar Wilde

tags: attributed-no-source, be-yourself, honesty, inspirational, misattributed-oscar-wilde

152599 likes

“Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.”
― Oscar Wilde

tags: attributed-no-source, enemies, forgiveness, strategy

76632 likes

“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.”
― Oscar Wilde

tags: life

75548 likes

See all Oscar Wilde's quotes »

Polls

Voting is now open for our Classical Play.
Voting will stay open until March 15th,, 2020 and the winning book will be announced on March 16th 2020.

Please remember that if the book you nominated wins you will lead the book discussion.

An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde

3 votes, 33.3%

Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

2 votes, 22.2%

Lady Windermere's Fan by Oscar Wilde

1 vote, 11.1%

Saint Joan by George Bernard Shaw

1 vote, 11.1%

Pillars of Society by Henrik Ibsen

1 vote, 11.1%

Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand

1 vote, 11.1%

9 total votes

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Oscar Wilde’s Followers (26,982)

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Oscar Wilde

Combine EditionsOscar Wilde’s books

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Quotes by Oscar Wilde

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Combine Editions
Oscar Wilde’s books