Oscar Wilde

Today is the 156th anniversary of the birth of Irish writer Oscar Wilde – one of the greatest playwrights, poets and writers to have ever committed words to paper.
Google are celebrating this event by featuring a Google doodle image of The Picture of Dorian Gray on their homepage.



Here are the top ten things you need to know about the Irish aesthete.

1) Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was born on October 16th 1854 in Dublin, Ireland.
2) Lauded as an outstanding scholar of the classics, Wilde attended both Trinity College, Dublin and Magdalen College, Oxford.
3) Wilde moved to London after university, mixing in fashionable circles, and becoming a ‘spokesman for aestheticism’ while partaking in various literary activities.
4) The Picture of Dorian Gray (published June 1890), considered a work of classic Gothic horror fiction, is his only published novel.
5) Drawn to drama, Wilde wrote Salomé in French in Paris in 1891 – but it was refused a licence.
6) The Importance of Being Earnest, a farcical comedy, is Wilde’s most famous play. It was first performed on February 14th 1895 at St. James's Theatre in London
7) While The Importance of Being Earnest was still running in London, Wilde sued his lover Lord Alfred “Bosie” Douglas’ father the Marquess of Queensberry for libel after Queensberry left his calling card at Wilde's club, the Albemarle, inscribed: "For Oscar Wilde, posing somdomite".
8) A series of trials lead to Wilde being convicted of gross indecency with other men and imprisoned for two years, held to hard labour. Upon release, he left for France.
9) In prison he wrote De Profundis, a long letter which discusses his spiritual journey through his trials.

10) He died in Paris, France, destitute on November 30th 1900, aged forty six.

The Picture of Dorian Gray (Norton Critical Editions) [Paperback]
This is the only edition available that includes both the 1890 Lippincott's and the 1891 book versions of "The Picture of Dorian Gray". The backgrounds, and reviews and reactions sections allow readers to gauge the novel's sensational reception and to consider heated public debate that the novel's publication engendered. "Criticism" includes seven new essays on the novel. A bibliography is also included.

RRP: £8.99
Price: £8.54 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery.
A classic. Click to Buy Here. The Picture of Dorian Gray (Norton Critical Editions)


The Oscar Wilde BBC Collection : The Importance Of Being Earnest / The Picture Of Dorian Gray / An Ideal Husband / Lady Windermere's Fan (3 Disc Box Set) [DVD]
Dramatic adaptations of four of Oscar Wilde's works. In 'The Importance Of Being Earnest', Algernon Moncrieff and Jack Worthing are a pair of bachelors who both have alter egos in order to increase their opportunities for having fun. If they are to win the hearts of the girls of their dreams, however, they must realise the vital importance of being earnest. Also features: 'The Picture Of Dorian Gray', 'An Ideal Husband' and 'Lady Windermere's Fan'.

RRP: £24.99
Price: £7.97 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery.

A Bargain. Buy Now. The Oscar Wilde BBC Collection : The Importance Of Being Earnest / The Picture Of Dorian Gray / An Ideal Husband / Lady Windermere's Fan (3 Disc Box Set) [DVD]