The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde: Stories, Plays, Poems & Essays

by Oscar Wilde, Jane Francesca Wilde, Robert Baldwin Ross

Book Overview

The complete literary oeuvre of one of the most celebrated authors and controversial figures of fin de si?cle Great Britain.

Playwright, poet, essayist, flamboyant man-about-town, Oscar Wilde packed an astonishing amount of work, genius, and controversy into two short decades, producing masterworks in every literary genre. This comprehensive one-volume edition of his writings includes his only novel, The Picture of Dorian...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 006096393X
• ISBN13: 9780060963934
• Release Date: July 2008
• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Length: 1216 Pages
• Weight: 2.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 2.1" x 5.4" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Deceptive description.

This was listed as like new, but when I opened it up I was very surprised: It looked like it had been kicked across a floor. I'm unable to return it & was misled by the untruthful description.

Impressive Binding

I gave this book as a gift to an Oscar Wilde fan who had not yet collected much of his work. The binding is beautiful and would be a fantastic addition to any bookshelf.

Don't leave home without it

If you believe literature's main purpose in existence is to induce pleasure, you could probably never find a better writer than Oscar Wilde. All his plays are absolute delights from start to finish, even the ones that aren't The Importance of Being Earnest. The Picture of Dorian Gray is a fantastic novel and a deserved classic. His poetry's derivative, but not bad by any stretch of the imagination. His stories, essays, letters, collections of epigrams, and other various writings are excellent reading as well, if you don't mind occasional melodrama or other minor missteps. This is a relatively expensive collection, but one that is well worth it. I don't regret spending a penny. The print's a readable size and, to my somewhat expansive knowledge on Wilde, none of his writings have been omitted or forgotten. Essential for those who want to enjoy literature while allowing it to expand the mind, but also looking for something deeper than Tuesdays With Morrie or other modern, popular tripe.

Actually a Complete Edition

The Collins edition of Oscar Wilde's complete works is the only one I've ever found that actually is *complete*. It contains not only all of his plays, fairy tales, and short stories, but also most of his essays (some brilliant writing) and *all* his poems. Many books say they do, but there are a few tiny gems that oft go unnoticed (such as "Love Song" and a lovely little piece with no name). A truly wonderful edition of a truly wonderful writer, or, as Wilde himself might say, "Quite utterly lovely." Also, if I am not mistaken, contains several pages of pictures of Wilde and his family.

Complete works is just that!

Most paperbacks the size of this one, nearly 3" wide, are hard to hold onto but the quality of this paperback is very good and text size easily readable. So far I have found every Oscar Wilde entry I was looking. Highly recommend.

Great read, great fly-swat!

Whoa! I was totally unfamiliar with the works of Oscar Wilde, until I bought this one on a friend's recommendation. It's huuuuuge, yet incredibly beautiful. Dorian Gray must be one of the greatest stories ever told, his poems are razor-sharp, his letters not less, and every line he comes up with is quotable. If you want to make sure you don't miss a thing, this is the book to get (and try his biography, especially the part about the trial).