The Importance of Being Earnest and Four Other Plays

Oscar Wilde' s legendary wit dazzles in «The Importance of Being Earnest», one of the greatest and most popular works of drama to emerge from Victorian England. A light-hearted satire of the absurdity of all forms and conventions, this comic masterpiece features an unforgettable cast of characters who, as critic Max Beerbohm observed, «speak a kind of beautiful nonsense — the language of high comedy, twisted into fantasy». This collection also includes Oscar Wilde' s most famous comedies, «Lady Windermere' s Fan», «A Woman of No Importance», and «An Ideal Husband», as well as his poetic tragedy «Salomé « — all written between 1891 and 1895, Wilde' s most creative period. George Bernard Shaw said of Oscar Wilde that he is «our most thorough playwright. He plays with everything: with wit, with philosophy, with drama, with actors and audience, with the whole theater».