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The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays

Author Oscar Wilde
Introduction by Sylvan Barnet
Afterword by Elise Bruhl, Michael Gamer
Mass Market Paperback
$4.95 US
Berkley / NAL | Signet
4.19"W x 6.68"H x 0.58"D   | 4 oz | 48 per carton
On sale Feb 07, 2012 | 240 Pages | 978-0-451-53189-6
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A universal favorite, The Importance of Being Earnest displays Oscar Wilde’s wit and theatrical genius at their brilliant best.

Subtitled “A Trivial Comedy for Serious People,” this hilarious attack on Victorian manners and morals turns a pompous world on its head, lets duplicity lead to happiness, and makes riposte the highest form of art. Written, according to Wilde, “by a butterfly for butterflies,” it is a dazzling masterpiece of comic entertainment.

Although it was originally written in four acts, The Importance of Being Earnest is usually performed in a three-act version. This authoritative edition features an appendix that restores valuable lines that appeared in the original.

Also included in this special collection are Wilde’s first comedy success, Lady Windermere’s Fan, and his richly sensual melodrama, Salomé, which he called “that terrible coloured little tragedy I once in some strange mood wrote”—and which shocked and enraged the censors of his time.

Includes an Introduction by Sylvan Barnet
and an Afterword by Elise Bruhl and Michael Gamer
Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) was an Irish writer, poet, and playwright. His novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, brought him lasting recognition, and he became one of the most successful playwrights of the late Victorian era with a series of witty social satires, including his masterpiece, The Importance of Being Earnest. View titles by Oscar Wilde
Educator Guide for The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays

Classroom-based guides appropriate for schools and colleges provide pre-reading and classroom activities, discussion questions connected to the curriculum, further reading, and resources.

(Please note: the guide displayed here is the most recently uploaded version; while unlikely, any page citation discrepancies between the guide and book is likely due to pagination differences between a book’s different formats.)

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A universal favorite, The Importance of Being Earnest displays Oscar Wilde’s wit and theatrical genius at their brilliant best.

Subtitled “A Trivial Comedy for Serious People,” this hilarious attack on Victorian manners and morals turns a pompous world on its head, lets duplicity lead to happiness, and makes riposte the highest form of art. Written, according to Wilde, “by a butterfly for butterflies,” it is a dazzling masterpiece of comic entertainment.

Although it was originally written in four acts, The Importance of Being Earnest is usually performed in a three-act version. This authoritative edition features an appendix that restores valuable lines that appeared in the original.

Also included in this special collection are Wilde’s first comedy success, Lady Windermere’s Fan, and his richly sensual melodrama, Salomé, which he called “that terrible coloured little tragedy I once in some strange mood wrote”—and which shocked and enraged the censors of his time.

Includes an Introduction by Sylvan Barnet
and an Afterword by Elise Bruhl and Michael Gamer

Author

Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) was an Irish writer, poet, and playwright. His novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, brought him lasting recognition, and he became one of the most successful playwrights of the late Victorian era with a series of witty social satires, including his masterpiece, The Importance of Being Earnest. View titles by Oscar Wilde

Additional Materials

Educator Guide for The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays

Classroom-based guides appropriate for schools and colleges provide pre-reading and classroom activities, discussion questions connected to the curriculum, further reading, and resources.

(Please note: the guide displayed here is the most recently uploaded version; while unlikely, any page citation discrepancies between the guide and book is likely due to pagination differences between a book’s different formats.)

Read More

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