Selected Prose of Oscar Wilde

This rich anthology reveals Oscar Wilde at his most dazzling and various: essayist, satirist, storyteller, critic, and moral provocateur. It gathers prose that ranges from razor-edged literary judgments and theories of art to satirical sketches, autobiographical reflection, and a luminous fairy tale, all united by Wilde's brilliance of style and his conviction that imagination matters more than mere fact. Robert Ross's preface invites readers to rediscover Wilde's prose as clear, precise, and far deeper than its reputation for artificiality suggests. The selections defend artifice over realism, arguing that art creates the standards by which life is seen, copied, and understood. Wilde mocks literary fashion, praises difficulty when it becomes brilliance, and insists that beauty, convention, and invention can transform both language and reality. Alongside these critical pieces stands the darker fascination of Thomas Griffiths Wainewright, whose elegance, forgery, poisoning, and exile sharpened his artistic persona. The collection closes with The Young King, where compassion and spiritual humility are crowned by miracle, making true kingship a matter of moral and sacred beauty. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.