Do you know I am quite looking forward to meeting your clever husband- Lady Chiltern. Since he has been at the Foreign Office- he has been so much talked of in Vienna. They actually succeed in spelling his name right in the newspapers. That in itself is fame- on the continent.' (Excerpt from Play)

Oscar Wilde was at once a family man and a homosexual outsider, a socialite, socialist, and Irish nationalist. His contradictions inspired him to ponder the roles and masks donned in conventional society, and his acute and wry insights are wonderfully displayed in this collection of his essential plays. Known not only for his brilliant, epigrammatic language, but also for his sense of theatrical design, color, and staging, Wilde created an enduring body of finely crafted works, whose delights and ironies still speak to modern audiences. In addition to Lady Windermere's Fan , Salomé , A Woman of No Importance , An Ideal Husband , A Florentine Tragedy , and The Importance of Being Earnest , this edition contains an introduction, notes and commentaries, and an excised scene from The Importance of Being Earnest .

《奥斯卡·王尔德的绝妙睿语》：辞世百年之后，奥斯卡·王尔德风靡依旧。他那些闪耀着炫目光彩的机智妙语，他对世间百态人木三分的洞察，仍然吸引着当今人们的眼光，不论年龄大小，不论阶层高低。他的剧作和小说也依然吸引着一代又一代的读者，给他们带来巨大的欢悦。而出现在他日常谈吐和作品字里行间的众多锋芒毕露、咄咄逼人的精辟警句和机智妙语，无不蕴涵着深刻的智慧，在百年之后仍然新鲜如初，一读之下仍给人耳目一新的感觉。本书集纳了王尔德最精彩的机智妙语。它让读者认识到王尔德不仅是一位措辞精巧雅致的名家里手，更是一位善于巧妙攻击、变着法子骂人的语言大师。实际上，他的言语攻击是如此的完美，被攻击者往往受宠若惊，乐于挨骂，争着做他的原型。他的警句箴言、他语出惊人的悖论、他的辛辣讽刺、他的针锋相对、他敏锐的辩驳一一这一切都被人们津津乐道。出于艺术家的自豪感，他本人也多次重复自己的得意之笔。他的讽刺虽然一针见血，却并不恶语伤人，因为其后隐藏的是王尔德那炽热激昂的品性、宽容的心灵，以及对生活、对名利的深刻领会。王尔德是一位才子，他有自己的人生座右铭：“被人说长道短是件烦恼事；更烦的是没人对你说长道短。”可以令他欣慰的是，在他辞世百年之后的今天，人们不只仍然在对他说长道短，更是在越来越多地引用他的机智妙语。个中原因，读完此书读者自会明了。2000年正值王尔德辞世一百周年，我们编辑此书以表敬意。 　　奥斯卡·王尔德于1854年生于都柏林，曾就读于都柏林的三一学院和牛津的麦格达林学院。在他最风光的年代，他被推崇为知名作家及语言大师达十五年之久。他奢华的生活引领着社会时尚，他唯美的思想掀起了文学史上著名的唯美运动；他装扮奇特，天性直率——这一切使得他声名大噪。而作为一名天才诗人和优秀的文艺批评家，他文学上的成就主要在于他的诗作、小说，而最主要的是剧作，其中《真诚最要紧》被公认为他的传世杰作。王尔德特立独行，放浪不羁。他广交朋友，也为自己树敌众多。1895年在一连串的不幸事件之后，他被宣判为猥亵罪而入狱服苦役两年。1897年获释出狱后，他流亡海外，大部分时间在法国逗留，最后死于巴黎。王尔德最后的岁月是在凄凉孤寂、自暴自弃中度过的。他声名扫地，穷困潦倒。但是他的智慧和他的作品却拼不因此而退色，依然光芒四射。

Introduction (by V. Holland) Part One. Stories Chapter 1. "The Picture of Dorian Gray Chapter 2. "Lord Arthur Savile's Crime Chapter 3. "The Canterville Ghost Chapter 4. "The Sphinx Without a Secret Chapter 5. "The Model Millionaire Chapter 6. "A House of Pomegranates Chapter 7. "The Young King Chapter 8. "The Birthday of the Infant Chapter 9. "The Fisherman and His Soul Chapter 10. "The Star-Child Chapter 11. "The Happy Prince Chapter 12. "The Nightingale and the Rose Chapter 13. "The Selfish Giant Chapter 14. "The Devoted Friend Chapter 15. "The Remarkable Rocket Part Two. Plays Chapter 18. "The Importance of Being Earnest Chapter 19. "Lady Windermere's Fan Chapter 20. "A Woman of No Importance Chapter 21. "An Ideal Husband Chapter 22. "Salome Chapter 23. "The Duchess of Padua Chapter 24. "Vera, or the Nihilists Chapter 25. "A Florentine Tragedy Chapter 26. "La Sainte Courtisane Part Three. Poems Helas Sonnet to Liberty Ave Imperatrix To Milton Louis Napolean Sonnet on the Massacre of the Christians in Bulgaria Quantum Mutata Libertatis Sacra Fames Theoretikos Santa Decca The Garden of Eros Requiescat Sonnet on Approaching Italy San Miniato By The Arno Ave Maria Gratia Plena Italia Sonnet Written in Holy Week at Genoa Rome Unvisited Urbs Sacra Aeterna Sonnet on Hearing the Dies Irae Sung in the Sistine Chapel Easter Day E Tenebris Wasted Days Madonna Mia The New Helen Impression de Voyage The Burden of Itys Impression du Matin Magdalen Walks Athanasia Serenade Endymion La Bella Donna della mia Mente Chanson Charmides Theocritus Impressions (Les Silhouettes, La Fuite de la Lune) In the Gold Room A Vision Ballade de Marguerite Amor Intellectualis The Dole of the King's Daughter The Grave of Shelley The Grave of Keats Fabien dei Franchi Phedre Portia Queen Henrietta Maria Camma Impression: Le Reveillon Panthea At Verona Apolgia Quia Multum Amavi Silentium Amoris Her Voice My Voice Taedium Vitae The Harlot's House From Spring Days to Winter Humanitad Flower of Love With a Copy of "A House of Pomegrantes" Under the Balcony Fantaisies Decoratives The New Remorse Canzonet Symphony in Yellow In the Forest To My Wife To L.L. Vita Nuova Pan The True Knowledge Lotus Leaves On the Sale by Auction of Keats' Love Letters Chorus of Cloud Maidens A Song of Lamentation A Fragment from the Agamemnon of Aescholys Impressions (Le Jardin, La Mer) The Artist's Dream or San Artystry Desespoir Ravenna The Sphinx Le Jardin des Tuileries The Ballad of Reading Gaol Tristitiae Part Four. Poems in Prose Chapter 27. "The Artist Chapter 28. "The Doer of Good Chapter 29. "The Disciple Chapter 30. "The Master Chapter 31. "The House of Judgment Chapter 32. "The Teacher of Wisdom Part Five. Essays and Letters Chapter 33. "De Profundis Chapter 34. "Two Letters to the Daily Chronicle Chapter 35. "Intentions Chapter 36. "The Decay of Lying Chapter 37. "Pen, Pencil and Poison Chapter 38. "The Critic as Artist Chapter 39. "The Truth of Masks Chapter 40. "The Soul of Man Under Socialism Chapter 41. "The Rise of Historical Criticism Chapter 42. "The Portrait of Mr. W.H. Chapter 43. "A Few Maxims for the Instruction of the Over-Educated Chapter 44. "Phrases and Philosophies for the Use of the Young