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Cover of The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

The Importance of Being Earnest

Oscar Wilde

  • 102 pages · about 2 hours
  • First published 1893
  • 455 editions
  • Free to read
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1 About this book

Set in England during the late Victorian era, the play's humour derives in part from characters maintaining fictitious identities to escape unwelcome social obligations. It is replete with witty dialogue and satirises some of the foibles and hypocrisy of late Victorian society. It has proved Wilde's most enduringly popular play.

Good for readers who want: a classic, humor, and a short read.

  • Marriage
  • Identity (Psychology)
  • Classics
  • Humor
  • Relationships
  • Courtship
  • Etiquette
  • Love

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3 About Oscar Wilde

1854–1900

Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 1854 – 30 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential dramatists in London in the early 1890s. He was a key figure in the emerging Aestheticism movement of the late 19th century and is widely regarded as the greatest playwright of the Victorian era.

Bio adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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