Oscar Wilde
Irish poet, playwright and novelist associated with the Aesthetic movement; author of The Picture of Dorian Gray and plays such as The Importance of Being Earnest; renowned wit and critic of Victorian society; convicted and imprisoned for homosexuality.
Books
This list of books are ONLY the books that have been ranked on the lists that are aggregated on this site. This is not a comprehensive list of all books by this author.
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1. The Critic As Artist
A Dialogue
A witty philosophical dialogue in which two interlocutors debate the nature and value of art and criticism, arguing provocatively that criticism is itself a creative art that interprets, completes, and even directs life; the conversation defends aestheticism and 'art for art’s sake,' claims that life often imitates art rather than the reverse, and insists that sensitivity and imaginative perception—cultivated by critical activity—are central to human experience. Through aphorism and paradox the speakers undermine simple hierarchies between creator and judge, explore how art shapes taste and conduct, and present criticism as an essential, generative force rather than a merely secondary commentary.
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2. Bahtiyar Prens
A gilded statue of a once-carefree prince, standing high above a city, is moved by the suffering he sees below and enlists the help of a migrating swallow to carry the statue’s gold leaf and precious gems to relieve the poor and injured; the swallow delays its journey out of compassion, performing acts of kindness until winter frost claims its life at the prince’s feet and the prince’s leaden heart breaks. The townspeople, unseeing of the sacrifices, have the statue melted down and discard the unmelted heart, but the prince and the faithful bird are ultimately recognized for their love and selflessness and granted a place in Paradise.
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3. Oakshot Complete Works Of Oscar Wilde
This collection brings together plays, essays, poems, short stories and a celebrated novel to showcase a singular voice famed for razor‑sharp wit, epigrammatic flair and devotion to aestheticism; it moves from sparkling comedies of manners and trenchant social satire to lyrical fairy tales and a haunting gothic meditation on beauty, vanity and moral consequence, all written in elegant, paradoxical prose that delights and provokes.
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4. Collected Works
A sweeping anthology gathers the writer's plays, fiction, essays, poems and letters—ranging from sparkling social comedies and sharp epigrams to melancholic confessions and moral parables—that together examine beauty, duplicity, art versus life, and the hypocrisies of society. The collection alternates razor-sharp wit and theatrical dialogue with lyrical fairy tales, aphoristic essays and haunting, autobiographical reflections, balancing satire and sentiment while exposing the costs of pride, scandal and desire. Readers encounter dazzling style, moral puzzles, and a voice that is at once urbane, subversive and deeply human.
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5. Портрет Дориана Грея
Молодой красавец, очарованный аморальной, гедонистической философией своего собеседника, просит, чтобы портрет, написанный его другом-художником, старел и отражал последствия его поступков вместо него. Воспользовавшись этой возможностью, он погружается в безнравственные удовольствия и циничные поступки — от разбитых сердец до убийства, — тогда как его внешность остаётся незыблемой, а изображение на полотне уродуется и стареет, выражая накопляющееся зло. В конце попытка уничтожить картину оборачивается разрушением самой жизни и жестокой расплатой за прожитую безответную роскошь и лицемерие.
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6. Кентервильское привидение
Комедийная повесть о старом английском особняке, населённом упрямым привидением, и американской семье, которая переезжает туда и отвечает на его попытки напугать их здравым смыслом, практичностью и насмешками. Хитрые розыгрыши, чистящие средства и невозмутимость членов семьи разбивают традиционные страхи, а сострадательная дочь устанавливает личный контакт с призраком и помогает ему обрести покой, раскрывая темы культурного столкновения, прощения и искупления.
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