Wilde started with a biblical play, which was prohibited in England but performed in France, then after several comedic plays, he produced the opus for which he is still revered, The Importance of Being Earnest (1895). Wilde seemed to prevail and emerged from the scuffle determined to inject his ideas into dramatic plays which would also allow him to launch his social commentary. The trouble was that rather than circle the old maypole of moral virtue and good deeds, The Picture of Dorian Gray incorporated decadence, depravity, duplicity, and shallow beauty. He defended himself and his novel and his view of art but did temper some of the writing when the full-length version of the book appeared the following year. The editor of the magazine where it appeared thought it indecent, bordering on obscene for its "moral decadence." He even expunged five hundred words without permission from the author. It was a literary success and society scandal. The Picture of Dorian Gray, published in 1890, was Wilde's only novel. Nobody's life is easy, however, and at the height of his success, Wilde was plucked from his literary throne and imprisoned for two years. He ultimately distinguished himself further as the preeminent playwright of his day. A gifted and prolific writer with a quick wit, Wilde could succeed writing in any form he chose and excelled as a conversationalist, journalist, novelist, short story writer, and essayist.
This Irish author was born at the wrong time, with personal proclivities that were anathema to his time and place. "I am not young enough to know everything." "The difference between journalism and literature is that journalism is unreadable and literature is not read."
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (1854 - 1900) a difficult name for a complicated man that led a difficult life filled with hope, triumph, but visited by peril and beset with despair. Uncle Tom's Cabin - Harriet Beecher Stowe.The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett.The Red Badge of Courage - Stephen Crane.The Scarlet Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne.
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