Oscar Wilde Books

Es una historia sencilla pero eso no deja que sea magnifica y entretenida

Thi is the first time I start readinng a book and can't leave it since I finish it .If you have a couple of hours read it!!

Instead of a collection of Oscar Wilde's idiom like personal remarks, this book is essentially a selection of quotations in his writings, primarily from characters in Dorian Gray, A Woman, The Decay of Lying etc., and the rest from his personal letters. They are brilliant, I must say. However, the absence of the full context did deprive me some interest of reading it. That's my problem, I admit. No matter what, it's quite an intellectual and sensational read. Just one remark: Though there are over 1000 quotations with comprehensive citation of source material, "I can resist everything except temptation" is not there.

As usual in my book reviews, below please find my favorite lines for your reference.

Even in love it is purely a question for physiology. It has nothing to do with our own will. Young men wnat to be faithful, and are not; old men want to be faithless and cannot....
Lord Henry in Dorian Gray

Be careful to choose your enemies well. Friends dont much matter. But the choice of enemies is very important.
Vincent O'Sullivan, Aspects of Wilde

We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.
Lord Darlington in Fan

I ruined myself; and .... nobody, great or small, can be ruined except by his own hand.
Letters

It is always with the best intentions that the worst work is done.
Gilbert in The Critic as Artist

...one pale woman all alone,
The daylight kissing her wan hair,
Loitered beneath the gas lamps' flare
With lips of flame and heart of stone.
"Impression du Martin" in World

In modern times, it is easy to overlook the contribution made to our heritage by Oscar Wilde. This book goes some way to redressing the balance as it conjures up the wicked wit of Wilde, in a very presentable fashion. Not a book to be read from cover to cover but one to be dipped into very often.

This book was given as a gift to me and although being not the only biography of Mr Wilde that I own it is definately one of the most comprehensive. It has an easily structured layout and a highly detailed reconstruction of the great writer's life; this is recommended to any fan of Oscar Wilde who doesn't know all that there is but wishes to learn it from a totally different point of view. It can at times be slightly prejudiced and the reader must remember the time in which it was written. However this does not detract from the book and should be enjoyed by any fan, giving in its outdated view an insight into the changes undergone in the last 100 years to the appreciation of his life and work. Enjoy Reading.

This is the book that helped resurrect the reputation of one of the most tragic figures in English literature. When this book was originally published, Wilde was nowhere near the iconic figure he is now accepted as. Dying in poverty and disgrace in 1900 in Paris, (where all "bad" Englishmen went in the 19th century!) Wilde was still anathema to the "Establishment" for close to a half century afterward. Today, a bust stands in Westminster Abbey, and Hesketh Pearson's biography can claim a good measure of the credit for it. Comprehensive, detailed and sympathetic without being hagiographic, this book is essential to understanding the enigmatic genius of Oscar Wilde.

This book was given as a gift to me and although being not the only biography of Mr Wilde that I own it is definately one of the most comprehensive. It has an easily structured layout and a highly detailed reconstruction of the great writer's life; this is recommended to any fan of Oscar Wilde who doesn't know all that there is but wishes to learn it from a totally different point of view. It can at times be slightly prejudiced and the reader must remember the time in which it was written. However this does not detract from the book and should be enjoyed by any fan, giving in its outdated view an insight into the changes undergone in the last 100 years to the appreciation of his life and work. Enjoy Reading.

This is the book that helped resurrect the reputation of one of the most tragic figures in English literature. When this book was originally published, Wilde was nowhere near the iconic figure he is now accepted as. Dying in poverty and disgrace in 1900 in Paris, (where all "bad" Englishmen went in the 19th century!) Wilde was still anathema to the "Establishment" for close to a half century afterward. Today, a bust stands in Westminster Abbey, and Hesketh Pearson's biography can claim a good measure of the credit for it. Comprehensive, detailed and sympathetic without being hagiographic, this book is essential to understanding the enigmatic genius of Oscar Wilde.

There are a number of ways to count the trials of Oscar Wilde, but what's becoming widely known as the "fourth" Oscar Wilde trial is a fascinating incident which occurred after his death. It is certainly must reading for anyone wanting to be acquainted with the Wilde story; especially if you're American. Maud Allen, the Canadian-American who brought about the libel action which initiated the trial, is familar to Canadians and some Americans since Felix Cherniavsky's 1991 book "The Salome Dancer" was published and mentioned this incident. And now Philip Hoare, a Briton, provides us with a fuller treatment of the trial's flow. Hoare's book is nicely written and has some stunning photographs of Maud Allan performing on stage. My only criticism is that Mr. Hoare says Ms. Allan's opponent, Noel Pemberton Billing, was "Mosley Before His Time." He refers to Sir Oswald Mosley, a later leader of the British fascists. If Mr. Hoare really knew his fascists, rather than his sterotypes, he would know that Mosley affiliated with the left wing tradition as a moderate member of parliment. Mosley continued to advocate those economic remedies as a fascist, continued his interest and associations with Britains's cultural vanguard, and was remarkably tolerant about homosexuals. In fact, it's no secret that Mosley's son by a first marriage, Nicolas, was homosexual, and to that son Mosley left the papers detailing his long, extraordinary, and tragic career. Today Nickolas is a prominent and respected liberal novelist, and his books about his father, Rules of the Game and Beyond the Pale, indicate that respect was mutual.

This is how history should be written: exhaustively researched, well organized, good command of the language. This book goes way beyond what the title promises, giving us an encompassing social history of the "upper classes" of Britain from 1900 to 1918. Many surprises here, all of them believable. The only request: to give us, in an appendix, a more thorough vitae of the players.

After a spate of books in queer studies anachronistically identifying this or that work as "gay," Alan Sinfield produced this thoughtful, accessible book that gives gay readings their due while simultaneously attempting to read things with a sense of historical responsibility, postulating the Oscar Wilde trial of 1896 as a marker for the formation of a queer identity that incorporates effeminacy into its battery of indicators. A smart, responsible, and well-written study.

"The Wilde Century" positions Oscar Wilde as the archetypal queer of the 20th Century (although perhaps not too far beyond), and as such it's insightful and enormously entertaining. Those not familiar with gender studies will marvel as Sinfield neatly constructs a convincing paradigm of queer/homosexual history. If you'd like a readable introduction to the germ of queer theory I'd recommend this book.

Complete Works of Oscar Wilde. Huge collection. (80+ Works) FREE Author's biography and poems in the trial version.

This ebook is an excellent collection of literary works by Oscar Wilde - one of the greatest writers in the English language. Very good digital item!

I am thrilled to have all this PRODUCT at my disposal, but it will occasionally be hard to find my way through it. The huge table of contents is organized in a non-intuitive way (beyond the broad categories), and one poem cannot be 'next page'-d into another. Instead, you have to go back to the contents again. Chapter/Act divisions would also be appreciated.

Oscar Wilde's classic gothic tale of a man who is granted his wish to remain forever young is still a fine and compelling read. Dorian Gray is captured at the height of his physical charms in a painting and soon discovers that the corruption of his body and soul is reflected in the painting while he retains his youthful attractiveness. His life becomes one of increasing debauchery and narcissism.
The most quotable of authors, Wilde uses a friend of the young man to deliver an endless collection of axioms and witty observations that add another dimension to the plot.
As Gray becomes more convinced of his invincibility he grows more callous toward others and his actions become less human and more monstrous as the story progresses.

Other reviewers have already covered the plot of Dorian Gray as well as the numerous reasons why you should read the book. I've contented myself with providing you a list of epigrams contained in the book I found especially wisdom-filled or humorous:

"The moments were lost in vulgar details. It was with a renewed feeling of disappointment that she waved the tattered lace handkerchief from the window, as her son drove away."

"...to be highly organised is, I should fancy, the object of man's existence."

"'To be good is to be in harmony with one's self. Discord is to be forced to be in harmony with others.'"

"'There are only two kinds of people who are really fascinating -- people who know absolutely everything, and people who know absolutely nothing.'"

"There is always something ridiculous about the emotions of people whom one has ceased to love."

"'...there is a fatality about good resolutions -- that they are always made too late.'"

"Sometimes, however, a tragedy that possesses artistic elements of beauty crosses our lives."

"But he never fell into the error of arresting his intellectual development by any formal acceptance of creed or system, or of mistaking, for a house in which to live, an inn that is but suitable for the sojourn of a night, or for a few hours of a night in which there are no stars and the moon is in travail."

"When a woman marries again it is because she detested her first husband. When a man marries again, it is because he adored his first wife. Women try their luck; men risk theirs."

"I like men who have a future and women who have a past."

"She lacks the indefinable charm of weakness."

"It is said passion makes one think in a circle."

"'All ways end at the same point, my dear Gladys.' 'What is that?' 'Disillusion.'"

While this is Oscar Wilde's only foray into novel-writing, I must say it is justifiably called a classic. The use of descriptive language and mood is exquisite.

The only downsides that I can mention would be how slowly it moves in some spots. Once in a while, the story takes sort of a vacation, and you are given a lot of details that don't really apply to the overall plot. Some of the things that are discussed are good at shedding light on some of the things that Mr. Gray was doing throughout the years that this book took place, but they can get a little boring. Truth be told, I skipped most of one chapter because it went on, and on, and on about the things that piqued Dorian Gray's interest. It doesn't stop there, but it explains why it did, what he did about it, and some other people that he associated with while he was pursuing a certain subject, like gemology. In this edition, many of the names that are given through these pages are given an endnote in the back, but to the average person these don't hold much interest. Even to some hardcore fans of classic literature and Gothic Horror could find certain chapters (one at least) very tedious.

That being said, there is certainly more good in this book than needed to balance out the less interesting parts. In the beginning, we get to see where the corruption of young Mr. Gray comes from. As the book progresses, you can see the corruption finally consume him, culminating in a surprising finale. I read at work, and my jaw dropped more than once, which I only realized after a co-worker brought attention to it. Even though most people have heard of the themes in the book, this is a fine example of taking an existing theme, and making it into a brilliant new idea.

The ideas contained in this book can be a little disturbing to some with a weak stomach. Some of the language can be a little stiff and hard to read, but remember it was written in the 1890's.

This book is highly recommended for anybody who has an interest in the Classics or Gothic Horror. Not for the faint of heart, but if it's ever crossed your mind to read The Picture of Dorian Gray, pick this book up! If you want to start reading Gothic Horror, I would suggest something a little lighter to start with -- Edgar Allan Poe, The Phantom of the Opera, or something like that. Those are a little easier, and give you a good idea of what the genre is all about.

Happy Reading!

Am I no less agreeable? I remain in good humor and fine favor. Yet I am changed. My approbation of this miracle is boundless. This work intoxicates and leaves one wanting more. In my esteem nothing is more beautiful or useless than this masterpiece

Is your soul a good bargaining chip for perpetual youth and beauty? Young Dorian Gray was led to believe so and impulsively struck that bargain. "The Picture of Dorian Gray" is the story of his decline into depravity following that ill-advised trade-off. The story is well-known in popular culture. An artist becomes obsessed with his young model's attractiveness. He and his jaded friend compete for influence over the young man. The friend corrupts young Dorian, encourages him to embrace a life of sensual pleasure and to prize his own beauty. Dorian exclaims that he resents the portrait because IT will keep the freshness of youth -- then the fateful words, that he would give his soul if the picture could decay instead of his own face and body.

Be careful what you wish for! Over the next twenty years Dorian sinks into the depths of moral slime and watches the hidden portrait show all the signs of that immorality, while his own face and figure keep the blush of youth.

Along with the adulation of youth and beauty, Oscar Wilde delves into the theme of art as morally neutral, a principle of the aesthetic school of thought. Can art be moral or immoral? Should it teach us, improve us? That was the common 19th century view but the school of aestheticism believed that the arts had no role in moral enlightenment. The preface of the book lays out this theme in a series of proclamations.

The entire book, like all of Wilde's work, is packed with "sound bites." The corrupting friend, Lord Henry Wotton, is particularly prone to Polonius-like declamations, and Dorian tells him, "You cut life to pieces with your epigrams!" In fact Wilde does that, ripping into polite society and the opium dens of London alike.

"The Picture of Dorian Gray" is Oscar Wilde's only published novel. It first appeared in a magazine in 1890 as a shorter work, and was later expanded and edited to remove some of the more blatant homosexual references. His writing is exquisite, his themes repugnant but (dare I say it?) edifying. "What does it profit a man ..."

Highly recommended as a true classic of modern literature. I read this book when I was young and thought I understood it. Now that I'm not so young, I'm sure that I don't.

NOTE: I listened to this book on CD, not tape, but I chose this product link because it's the same production. The Brilliance Audio Library Edition, read by Michael Page, was incomparably presented and added a great deal to my enjoyment of this absorbing book.

Linda Bulger, 2008

I have just "reread" H. G. Wells classic of science fiction (actually I listened to the audiobook version on my iPod on a long flight). And it is still as gripping to me as it was many years ago when I was a young teen. As the grandfather of all science fiction concerning invasions of alien beings from advanced interplanetary civilizations "The War of the Worlds" always will be considered a seminal work of science fiction.

The book is a first person account, by a survivor, of a Martian attack on the south of England during the late 19th century. Human armies and weapons are totally inadequate to stop the invading alien army. The Martian technology that Wells describes would have been frightening to anyone living in the late 19th century. Rapidly moving fighting machines, heat rays, and poison gas attacks all at the command of a totally inhuman and merciless enemy whose attack was entirely unprovoked. However, we had only had to wait for 2 decades to experience tanks and poison gas on the battlefields of Europe. A few decades more and we had atomic bombs and lasers. Neither did Wells depict the Martians as invulnerable. After all, the torpedo ram "Thunderchild" took out two and possibly 3 of the Martian war machines before it was sunk. Of course today a squadron of modern F16s could wipe out the entire invading Martian army of 1898 in a few minutes. Followed by a thermonuclear attack on Mars iteslf, of course. We clearly have outstripped the technology that Wells imagined.

However, futuristic technology is not the point of Wells' book. Wells knew that human machines were advancing at a rapid pace. He probably would not be surprised at today's technology. Wells book actually is a social commentary and a condemnation of the British colonial system and the cruel indifference with which Europe exploited less technologically advanced peoples. The Martians that he describes could well become us. Sluggish beings, entirely dependant on machines, living on the life blood of the less fortunate. This is in fact what half of humanity does become in Wells' equally important novel "The Time Machine." So the theme of "The War of the Worlds" is as important today as it was in 1898 in spite of the admittedly dated technology that it describes.

I bought this for my 10 year old son who saw the movie (Tom Cruise). He loved the book and because it's in paperback we took it everywhere.

BAM went the heat ray as it was fired by the aliens. If you want to hear what happens next then go read War of the Worlds.
War of the Worlds, by H. G. Wells, was written 110 years ago in 1898. It takes place in a small town in England. One day a mysterious black cylinder falls out of the sky. A couple days later the cylinder opens up and a cylinder is fired. Many people are killed but the main character just manages to escape. The aliens build up a ship thing and call for other cylinders to come. The aliens try to take over the town, then the world!
I did not have a favorite part in War of the Worlds. I thought War of the Worlds was actually a pretty boring book because there was barely any good and exciting action at all. There was a lot of shooting, but all they shot at were the alien's ship things and the bullets just bounced off.
H. G. Wells described almost everything way too much. For example: he uses 3 pages describing a dead horse and 2 pages describing fire.
I thought the whole plot of War of the Worlds was good except for the beginning. For no reason at all a cylinder from Mars with Martians in it falls out of the sky.
I do not recommend this book for people who like action. If you want a lot of action, I recommend the movie War of the Worlds starring Tom Cruise.

I love this book. It truly kept me on the edge of my seat as I followed characters and their exodus from Martian tyranny.

I have been planning on reading this book for over 10 years. I remember watching the movie when I was little (and then the remake a few years ago). First of all, this was far better than either of the movies.

Written in first person from the account of a survivor of the attack (who is never named) and then recounting the tale of his brother, this is a very immediate and unsettling tale. What I did not expect was the time frame the book was written in. I assumed (for some idiotic reason) that it would take place in the twentieth century. Instead, for those of you who like myself, forgot the timeframe that Wells lived in, this book takes place in the nineteenth century. The Martian attack occurs prior to the weapons of warfare that we are so used to thinking about; there are no tanks, no planes with bombs. Hussars and artillery are their greatest defense. People couldn't hop in their cars and drive from the invaders; they were instead in horse drawn carriages, communicating the disaster via telegraph and daily papers. This put a whole new twist on the tale from what I was expecting.

Our narrator lives only a few miles from where the first "ship" lands and we follow the town's initial curiosity and complete lack of fear as they peek into the hole in the ground created by the wreak. Even after the first "heat rays" are fired and people are killed, there is still no sense of fear. When the action comes, it comes quickly. Separated from his wife and family our unnamed narrator survives mainly through luck and the fact that he never stops moving. The entire story takes place in less than a month, from initial landing to total devastation. There is a lot of science involved, discussing the physiology of the aliens, speculation on their planet, and how they evolved. For the casual reader it's not too bad and doesn't bog down the story. For the rabid science hound, please remember when this book was written before you blast the scientific inconstancies and flat out scientific errors.

I highly recommend reading this book, to just about anyone. It is a fast read, which manages to keep your attention from beginning to end. The political and social commentary though written for another time still holds value today. The religious implication is not jammed down your throat. This is a fun yet chilling read, which you will find yourself pondering over long after you have put the book away.

'Bosie' paints as rounded a picture of a character known usually for his supporting role in the Oscar Wilde circus as is possible for a subject widely viewed as having little worth beyond his time with his lover and muse. As a first book for so young a writer, Douglas Murray has done us the inestimable favour of elucidating from Lord Alfred Douglas' poetry, letters and other writings the flawed character and lesser talent of someone significantly more interesting than the two-dimensional upper-class arm candy he is frequently portrayed as. Having burnt his first flame in the dazzling candelabra of Wilde's celebrity, Bosie is so often overlooked and dismissed. Murray's thorough research and ample quotation from Bosie's life and works independent of Wilde cannot but help an enquiring reader to a better understanding of their relationship and of the bearing that Bosie's family had on Wilde's fate. This is all the more remarkable for coming from a writer so close in age, and convceivably the outlook of a yet-to-mature individual, to his subject than most other biographers. I look forward eagerly to Douglas Murray's future work.

Having read The Unmasking of Oscar Wilde by Joseph Pearce, I decided that it would be interesting to know more about the person who is made out to be the villain in Oscar Wilde's downfall.

Bosie by Douglas Murray is a detailed book chronicling the life of Lord Alfred Douglas. It is a detailed account of a man hounded by family traits, his own desires, repentence, regrets and sad ending. It really is unfair to blame Alfred Douglas for Wilde's downfall. Wilde, if anything, was self destructive and not only destroyed himself, but everyone around him, including his wife and children, as well as Alfred Douglas. Murray is clear that upon renouncing his wasted and immoral youth Douglas became a moralist, like the father he hated, and became addicted to litigating every slight made against him. Wilde's circle of friends and admirers needed someone to blame for his demise, so they picked Lord Alfred Douglas. This book shows that like all moralists Douglas became paranoid and biased, but later in life did truly repent and apologized for all the harm he had done. He died penniless, alone and very, very sad. Like Wilde, Douglas's actions also destroyed his marriage and the life of his child. Bosie by Douglas Murray is required reading for all those who want to make up their own minds on Oscar Wilde and know more about the man who figured so prominently in Wilde's life.

There are a number of reasons why "Bosie" is a remarkable book--even setting aside the youth of the author. (He was 14 when he began the research and 20 when this biography was published.) First, Murray somehow gained the confidence of the surviving family members related to Lord Douglas and his circle, and he enjoyed unprecedented access to both reminiscences and documents. In addition, the author managed to secure the release of the British government files from Douglas's imprisonment--papers that, by law, were to remain sealed for another half century. And third (and foremost), he has upended the portrait of Lord Douglas written by one of the twentieth century's foremost scholars, Richard Ellmann.

As readers of the now-standard biography of Oscar Wilde know, Ellmann portrayed Douglas as a manipulative yet beautiful cipher with not much in the way of wit or intelligence. Murray, in contrast, depicts Douglas as a worthy companion to Wilde (in spite of their frequent and legendary spats) and an artist in his own right. While certainly not on a par with Wilde, Douglas produced a respectable body of work and was, during his life, an appreciated (if litigious) editor. A true assessment of Douglas's worth, I think, would fall somewhere in between these two portraits, although Murray's book contains the more well-rounded assessment: while trying to revive Douglas's reputation, it does not try to whitewash his notoriety and imprudence.

Indeed, most readers will share Murray's fascination with Lord Douglas's life. Even after Wilde's death and Douglas's conversion to Catholicism and renunciation of homosexuality, Douglas refused to fade away, becoming "a man who confessed that he was popularly believed to revel in litigation." And litigate he did: the dramatis personae of Douglas's court cases are a veritable who's who of the English literary scene, and the parade of libels and lawssuits culminates in a bizarre and foolish challenge to none other than Winston Churchill.

Although Douglas's life is perversely intriguing, I am hard-pressed to share Murray's enthusiasm for the poetry itself--and this, of course, may be more a matter of taste than of intrinsic worth. Douglas's oeuvre divides rather neatly into three categories: nonsense verse (mostly for children), biting--and often nasty--lampoons, and staunchly traditional sonnets and lyrics. The first group is best forgotten, and the second is (naturally) dated; it is in the last group where one can find the occasional gem, the memorable stanza, the well-turned phrase. The most famous of these poems, because of its notoriety, will always (and justifiably) be "Two Loves," with its celebrated closing line: "I am the Love that dare not speak its name." Murray also rediscovers for the reader a few other notable pieces. But, in spite of the handful of contemporaries who touted the "belief that Douglas ranked as a sonneteer with Shakespeare," a few clever lines and outstanding verses does not a master make.

Murray does, however, raise a valid point. As with Douglas's life so with his poetry; the man was his own worst enemy even when it came to his literary reputation. While Douglas was threatening, cajoling, and suing most of his enemies and many of his friends, he also spent three decades inveighing (rather vituperatively) against modernism. Auden, Eliot, Isherwood, Pound, Yeats, H. G. Wells, D. H. Lawrence--he regarded them all as barbarians at the gates. His taste proved to be obstinately backward-looking, and his outspokenness not only brought into question the relevance of his own verse but also helped to reveal him as a bit of a dinosaur. In many ways, his verse was a hundred years behind the times, but had he been born a century earlier, his meager output still would have been eclipsed by the poetry of Wordsworth, Byron, Keats, Shelley, and even the lesser Romantic poets. Nevertheless, Douglas's life and his poetry are deserving of this valuable and refreshingly lively reassessment.

While Douglas Murray had access to Douglas family materials heretofore unavailable, he of course did not have access to Bosie Douglas himself. But another, now deceased scholar of all things Wildean, Rupert Croft Cooke, did. Cooke, author of dozens of novels, biographies and other books, knew Lord Alfred Douglas when he, Cooke, was a youngster. As a result, his book, entitled Bosie: Lord Alfred Douglas, His Friends and Enemies, gives an intimate look at Bosie in more mellow old age. Cooke, a former newspaperman in the glory days of Fleet Street, was also a much more lively writer than Douglas Murray. His book is out of print, but can commonly be found in used book shops.

I was stunned by the quality of Mr. Murray's writing.

Mr. Murray enables the reader to feel as if he knows Bosie, understands Bosie, and has been a witness to Bosie's life himself. Bosie's life as well as his relationship with Oscar is so well written that the reader understands the spirit and tone of the life and the relationship. Very well done !!!