Oscar Wilde 1854 - 1900

Author of some of the most enduring social comedies of the English language.

Born in Dublin, Oscar Wilde became an outstanding student of the classics and was soon recognized as a prominent personality in England's literary and social circles. A master of epigrammatic wit, the infamous Wilde is recognized for his brilliantly beautiful language that is riddled with irony, satire and sarcasm. This prolific author of plays (his most enduring achievement), poetry, short stories, criticism and one novel (The Picture of Dorian Gray) was also a well-know lecturer and editor. Wilde was an anti-establishment radical of his day.

Some of his works written between 1890 and 1898:

• The Picture of Dorian Gray
• Lady Windermere's Fan
• A woman of No Importance
• An Ideal Husband
• The Importance of Being Earnest
• The Ballad of Reading Gaol

Wilde soon became famous for his witticisms - in 1894, his wife published a small anthology his witticisms entitled Oscariana.

Lampooning London's rigid blue-blood Victorian society was one of Wilde's favourite sports. In An Ideal Husband (1895), his characters depict a morally prudish class of people who were concerned, above all else, about keeping up a pseudo front. Ensuring that their stainless reputations were in tack was of the utmost importance.

A quote from An Ideal Husband:

Lady Chiltern (the wife of Sir Robert Chiltern) is a portrayal of a gallingly ideal and conventional spouse. "She stands apart as good women do," says her husband sullenly,