The Importance of Being Earnest

The full text of Oscar Wilde's beloved comedy of manners, including exclusive commentary, selections from Wilde's correspondence, and excerpts from the original four-act version.

The Importance of Being Earnest shows a full measure of Oscar Wilde's legendary wit, and embodies more than any of his other plays his decency and warmth.

This edition contains substantial excerpts from the original four-act version which was never produced, as well as the full text of the final three-act version, selections from Wilde's correspondence, and commentary by George Bernard Shaw, Max Beerbohm, St. John Hankin, and James Agate.

"It is exquisitely trivial, a delicate bubble of fancy and it has its philosophy; that we should treat all trivial things of life seriously, and all the serious things of life with sincere and studied triviality." -Oscar Wilde

Born in Ireland in 1856, Oscar Wilde was a noted essayist, playwright, fairy tale writer and poet, as well as an early leader of the Aesthetic Movement. His plays include: An Ideal Husband, Salome, A Woman of No Importance, and Lady Windermere's Fan. Among his best known stories are The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Canterville Ghost.