Wilde

By Jonathan Fryer

Oscar Wilde, self-styled master of the bon mot turned Victorian bogeyman, was resurrected by a more liberal age as St Oscar, slayer of the hypocrisy-dragon. The fat Irishman with the golden tongue had posthumously proved that the world is not black and white. His wit and his paradoxes were understood as profound and moral; his best plays were recognised as gems of English comedy. His most celebrated works include The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Importance of Being Earnest, Lady Windermere's Fan, An Ideal Husband, A Woman of No Importance and Salome.

‘This short introduction scores of its weightier rivals in several respects: it is rarely polemical, it combines both caution and brio, and, perforce, it is tight. Fryer has a great gift for finding the pertinent quotation. His analysis of the relation between the man and the dramatist is sharp and convincing.’
The Independent on Sunday

Jonathan Fryer is a writer, lecturer and journalist. He has written many books including a biography of Robbie Ross, Oscar Wilde's devoted friend.