Works of Wilde’s annus mirabilis of 1891 in one volume, with an introduction by renowned British playwright. The Soul of Man Under Socialism draw on works from a single miraculous year in which Oscar Wilde published the larger part of his greatest works in prose—the year he came into maturity as an artist. Before the end of 1891, he had written the first of his phenomenally successful plays and met the young man who would win his heart, beginning the love affair that would lead to imprisonment and public infamy. In a witty introduction, playwright, novelist and Wilde scholar Neil Bartlett explains what made this point in the writer’s life central to his genius and why Wilde remains a provocative and radical figure to this day. Included here are the entirety of Wilde’s foray into political philosophy, The Soul of Man Under Socialism; the complete essay collection Intentions; selections from The Portrait of Dorian Gray as well as its paradoxical and scandalous preface; and some of Wilde’s greatest fictions for children. Each selection is accompanied by stimulating and enlightening annotations. A delight for fans of Oscar Wilde, In Praise of Disobedience will revitalize an often misunderstood legacy.

Selection includes The Portrait of Mr W.H., Wilde's defence of Dorian Gray, reviews, and the writings from 'Intentions' (1891): 'The Decay of Lying, 'Pen, Pencil, Poison', and 'The Critic as Artist'. Wilde is familiar to us as the ironic critic behind the social comedies, as the creator of the beautiful and doomed Dorian Gray, as the flamboyant aesthete and the demonised homosexual. This volume presents us with a different Wilde. Wilde emerges here as a deep and serious reader of literature and philosophy, and an eloquent and original thinker about society and art.

'All limitations, external or internal, are prison-walls, and life is a limitation.' Presenting the less familiar, serious Wilde before and after his fall, this volume includes The Soul of Man, a manifesto on Individualism, De Profundis, the self-analysing piece he wrote in gaol, two open letters to the Daily Chronicle on prison injustice, and The Ballad of Reading Gaol, inspiredby the execution of a fellow-prisoner.

Featuring thirteen original essays that examine Wilde's achievements as an aesthete, critic, dramatist, novelist, and poet, this provocative and ground-breaking volume ushers the field of Oscar Wilde studies into the twenty-first century.

A radical re-examination of Oscar Wilde's plays, Revising Wilde challenges long-established views of the writer as a dilettante and dandy, revealing him instead as a serious philosopher and social critic who used his plays to subvert the traditional values of Victorian literature and society. By tracing Wilde's painstaking revisions and redraftings of his plays, Sos Eltis uncovers themes subsequently concealed in successive versions which demonstrate that Wilde was in fact an anarchist, a socialist, and a feminist. Wilde borrowed plots and incidents from numerous contemporary French and English plays, but he then subtly rewrote his plagiarized material in order to mock the very conventions he imitated. By analysing previously unconsidered manuscript drafts, and comparing the finished plays with their sources, Eltis displays a surprising depth and complexity to Wilde's work. The little-known early play, Vera; or, The Nihilists is revealed as a politically radical drama, the society plays are shown to challenge Victorian sexual and social mores, and The Importance of Being Earnest is interpreted as an anarchic farce, which reflects the Utopian vision of Wilde's political essay, 'The Soul of Man under Socialism'. Taking into account the most recent scholarship and criticism, this accessible study will be of interest to Wilde specialists and enthusiasts alike.

A Preface to Oscar Wilde provides a detailed study of the cultural, personal and political influences that shaped Wilde's writing. The study concentrates primarily on his fiction, critical dialogues and plays that were published between 1890 and 1895, and detailed accounts of Wilde's lesser known works such as his poetry, journalism and letters are also presented. The first section places his work in a variety of cultural contexts: Wilde's family life and his Irish inheritance are examined, the impact of his sexuality on his writing and reputation is considered, and a description is provided of how Wilde became a legendary figure in the arts. Major innovations and successes, such as The Picture of Dorian Gray, Salome and The Importance of Being Earnest are related to avant garde movements of their day such as aestheticism, decadence, and symbolism. Reference sections provide supporting material such as a Wilde chronology, a glossary of terms and a bibliography for further study. Anne Varty sets out in this study to bring to life the work of Wilde, and to make his writing accessible to readers who are unfamiliar with his achievements. In so doing, she confronts the ethical drive of his work, and demonstrates the coherent evolution of his work from the aestheticism of the early poetry, through the sophisticated handling of theatre, to the dark self-scrutiny of autobiography. The comprehensive and accessible approach makes this a useful reference work to all who are studying Oscar Wilde, both at A Level and undergraduate level. The content will also appeal to the general reader who is seeking to gain a greater understanding and appreciation of Wilde's work.

This book argues that we are undergoing a transition from industrial capitalism to a new form of capitalism - what the author calls & lsquo; cognitive capitalism & rsquo;