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  • The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde book cover
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The Importance of Being Earnest

by Oscar Wilde

Marriage and Victorian convention on stage

$10.08 USD
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AlbakiReads Editorial

Marriage and Victorian convention on stage

First performed in London in 1895, Oscar Wilde’s play turns its attention to marriage and the social expectations surrounding it. The supplied description frames the comedy as a challenge to Victorian morals, assumptions, and constraints, placing the institution of marriage within a wider critique of its era’s values. Wilde’s own public life became entangled with Victorian scrutiny, though that biographical context is distinct from the play’s stated subject. This edition presents the work as a classic of the theatre, with its central concerns rooted in social convention and the purpose assigned to marriage.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in classic plays and Oscar Wilde’s theatre
  • Readers exploring Victorian social values and attitudes toward marriage

Themes

Marriage and social conventionVictorian morals and assumptionsTheatre and social critique

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

The full text of Oscar Wilde's beloved comedy of manners, including exclusive commentary, selections from Wilde's correspondence, and excerpts from the original four-act version.

The Importance of Being Earnest shows a full measure of Oscar Wilde's
legendary wit, and embodies more than any of his other plays his decency and
warmth.

This edition contains substantial excerpts from the original four-act
version which was never produced, as well as the full text of the final
three-act version, selections from Wilde's correspondence, and commentary by
George Bernard Shaw, Max Beerbohm, St. John Hankin, and James Agate.

"It is exquisitely trivial, a delicate bubble of fancy and it has its philosophy; that we should treat all trivial things of life seriously, and all the serious things of life with sincere and studied triviality." -Oscar Wilde

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I highly recommend to for anyone looking for inner clarity

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Great shopping experience! The book arrived quickly, was well packaged, and matched the description perfectly. I would definitely shop with you again

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