Showing results by author "Oscar Wilde"

A sparkling collection of the major works of the ever-adored Oscar Wilde, with incredible casts including Judi Dench, Martin Clunes, Michael Sheen, Miriam Margolyes, Ian McDiarmid, Joely Richardson, Penelope Keith, Martin Jarvis, Diana Rigg, Simon Russell Beale, Sheila Hancock, Ian McKellen and Stephen Fry.

A glittering collection of some of the world's finest short stories.

Algernon Moncrieff, a bachelor-about-town, has invented an invalid friend called Bunbury in order to get out of tiresome family engagements. At the same time, his friend, Jack Worthing, has invented a wicked brother called Ernest to disguise his own misdemeanours. When Algernon poses as Ernest to win the heart of Cecily Cardew, confusion reigns, and it takes the discovery of an old black handbag to reveal the truth.

The Happy Prince lived in the Palace of Sans Souci, where sorrow was not allowed to enter, and only pleasure was experienced. Then, a gilded statue set on top of a high column allowed him to see all the wretchedness of the poor, the sick, and the lonely who inhabited his great city. What develops is a story of sacrifice and redemption that is a parable for our time. This audiobook includes nine of Oscar Wilde's magical and haunting fairytales. Written for his own sons, Wilde's tales will provide equal delight for children of today.

Oscar Wilde created his final and most lasting play, one of the comic masterpieces of all time, The Importance of Being Earnest, in 1895. It is a farce playing with love, religion, and truth as it tells the tale of two men, Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff, who bend the truth in order to add excitement to their lives. Jack invents an imaginary brother, Ernest, whom he uses as an excuse to escape from his dull country home and gallivant in town.

Four classic comedies from one of the wittiest playwrights in Western literature: Lady Windermere's Fan, A Woman of No Importance, An Ideal Husband, and The Importance of Being Earnest, all featuring star-studded casts with the likes of Jacqueline Bisset, Miriam Margolyes, James Marsters, Alfred Molina, Roger Rees, Yeardley Smith, Eric Stoltz, and many more. This audio also includes a chilling dramatization of Wilde's sole novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray.

The Picture of Dorian Gray is the story of a man who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for eternal youth. As Basil Hallward, an aspiring artist, puts a few touches on a portrait of his handsome young friend Dorian Gray, Gray wishes that the portrait might grow old while he remains forever young. While Dorian Gray spends his life pursuing fresh experiences and new sensations, his looks do not change. However, the portrait, secretly hidden in the attic of his residence and with which he has grown increasingly obsessed, does.

This wonderful collection of 18 short stories includes work by some of literature's most treasured names, including Mark Twain, Edgar Allan Poe, James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Oscar Wilde, and many more. This superlative treasury includes "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe; "A Piece of String" by Guy Le Maupassant; "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin; "The Mark on the Wall" by Virginia Woolf; "Nuns at Lunch" by Aldous Huxley, and many more!

Devilishly attractive Lord Illingworth is notorious for his skill as a seducer. But he is still invited to all the "best" houses, while his female conquests must hide their shame in seclusion. In this devastating drawing-room comedy, Oscar Wilde uses his celebrated wit to expose English society's narrow view of everything from sexual mores to Americans.

A young man commits all types of sins, but only his portrait shows the ravages of his life. Oscar Wilde's Faustian classic. Gothic horror at its best.

The Canterville Ghost is a novella by Oscar Wilde. It was the first of Wilde's stories to be published, appearing in two parts in The Court and Society Review, on February 23 and March 2, 1887. The story is about an American family who move to a castle haunted by the ghost of a dead nobleman, who killed his wife and was starved to death by his wife's brothers. It has been adapted for the stage and screen several times. 

Audrey Hepburn performs selections from her Grammy Award winning "Enchanted Tales" (adapted by Mary Sheldon); John Ritter tells the story of "Jack and the Beanstalk"; Sharon Stone delivers an off-the-wall rendition of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (the tale by the Brothers Grimm, retold by Richard Hack); and Orson Welles performs the all-time favorite "The Happy Prince" (by Oscar Wilde).

This is one of the great recordings of a great play. John Gielgud stars as Earnest and Edith Evans gives her indomitable performance as Lady Bracknell in this classic radio recording from 1951.

Un manoir hanté, le fantôme d'un homme qui a tué sa femme et une tâche de sang qui apparaît de façon récurrente. Pourtant, Mr Otis n'a pas peur et ne croit pas aux revenants. "Le Fantôme de Canterville" est une nouvelle dont l'écriture se prête à différentes grilles de lecture. Ainsi, les plus jeunes en apprécieront sans nul doute les traits d'humour, alors que d'autres y trouveront une forme particulièrement intelligente de critique sociale.

Oscar Wilde visited America in the year 1882. Interest in the Aesthetic School, of which Wilde was the most prominent representative, had spread to the United States, and Wilde decided to undertake an American lecture tour to explain the Aesthetic movement. Towards the end of September 1883 Wilde returned to England and immediately commenced a lecturing tour. His first visit was to Wandsworth Town Hall where he presented his "Impressions of America", the text of which was published in 1906.

This essay was written in 1891 after Wilde had become enamored of concepts expressive of a liberal socialism. In his view, the aim of socialism should be "to try to reconstruct society on such a basis that poverty will be impossible". Typically, Wilde stresses the vital role played by art and the imperative significance of the artist. 

Dorian Gray, un giovane di straordinaria bellezza, si è fatto fare un ritratto da un pittore. Ossessionato dalla paura della vecchiaia, ottiene, con un sortilegio, che ogni segno che il tempo dovrebbe lasciare sul suo viso, compaia invece solo sul ritratto. Avido di piacere, si abbandona agli eccessi più sfrenati, mantenendo intatta la freschezza e la perfezione del suo viso. Poiché Hallward, il pittore, gli rimprovera tanta vergogna, lo uccide. A questo punto il ritratto diventa per Dorian un atto d'accusa e in un impeto di disperazione lo squarcia con una pugnalata.

Oscar Wilde bleibt keine Zeit zum Durchatmen. Nur knapp ist er in Whitby dem Tod entronnen. Doch kaum in London angekommen, sieht er sich auch hier mit einer neuen Gefahr konfrontiert. Eine unbekannte dunkle Macht streckt ihre Finger nach der britischen Hauptstadt aus. Menschen verschwinden spurlos. Auch einer von Mycroft Holmes Agenten gehört zu den Vermissten. Ein neuer Gegner tritt aus den Schatten und fordert die Sonderermittler der Krone zum Kampf!

Dorian Gray, ein wohlhabender englischer Gentleman, ist nur von einem einzigen Gedanken besessen: die ewige Jugend zu erlangen! Von seiner eigenen Schönheit bezaubert, verkauft er seine Seele, um seinen Wunschtraum wahr werden zu lassen. Hemmungslos gibt er sich seinem Hang zu maßloser Verschwendung, Verbrechen und Grausamkeit hin, denn er altert nicht mehr und sein zügelloser Lebensstil hinterlässt an seinem Körper keine Spuren. Doch auf seinem gemalten Porträt verbirgt sich die grauenvolle Wahrheit.

The first four stories were first published as a collection in 1891. The final story, "The Portrait of Mr W. H.", originally published separately in 1889, was later added to an expanded collection. All the stories deal with personal relationships and their inevitable influence on the course of a person's life.