HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics.

'How sad it is I shall grow old, and horrid, and dreadful. But this picture will remain always young If it was only the other way '

Wilde's first and only published novel recounts the story of handsome Dorian Gray who upon having his portrait painted desires that it will age and grow ugly while he may remain eternally beautiful. The painting, which reflects each of Gray's sins and transgressions in its hideousness, haunts him until it finally becomes unbearable. In this dark tale of duplicity and mortality, Wilde creates a world where art and reality collide."

Witty and buoyant comedy of manners is brilliantly plotted from its effervescent first act to its hilarious denouement, and filled with some of literature's most famous epigrams. Widely considered Wilde's most perfect work, the play is reprinted here from an authoritative early British edition. Note to the Dover Edition.

'It would be unfair to expect other people to be as remarkable as oneself' Wilde's celebrated witticisms on the dangers of sincerity, duplicitous biographers, the stupidity of the English - and his own genius. One of 46 new books in the bestselling Little Black Classics series, to celebrate the first ever Penguin Classic in 1946. Each book gives readers a taste of the Classics' huge range and diversity, with works from around the world and across the centuries - including fables, decadence, heartbreak, tall tales, satire, ghosts, battles and elephants.

In a town where a lot of poor people suffer and where there are a lot of miseries, a swallow who was left behind after his flock flew off to Egypt for the winter, meets the statue of the late ‘Happy Prince’, who in reality has never experienced true sorrow, for he lived in a palace where sorrow isn’t allowed to enter. Viewing various scenes of people suffering in poverty from his tall monument, the Happy Prince asks the swallow to take the ruby from his hilt, the sapphires from his eyes, and the golden leaf covering his body to give to the poor. As the winter comes and the Happy Prince is stripped of all of his beauty, his lead heart breaks when the swallow dies as a result of his selfless deeds and severe cold. The statue is then brought down from the pillar and melted in a furnace leaving behind the broken heart and the dead swallow and they are thrown in a dust heap. These are taken up to heaven by an angel that has deemed them the two most precious things in the city. This is affirmed by God and they live forever in his city of gold and garden of paradise.

Wilde's only novel, first published in 1890, is a brilliantly designed puzzle, intended to tease conventional minds with its exploration of the myriad interrelationships between art, life, and consequence. From its provocative Preface, challenging the reader to believe in 'art for art's sake', to its sensational conclusion, the story self-consciously experiments with the notion of sin as an element of design. Yet Wilde himself underestimated the consequences of his experiment, and its capacity to outrage the Victorian establishment. Its words returned to haunt him in his court appearances in 1895, and he later recalled the 'note of doom' which runs like 'a purple thread' through its carefully crafted prose.

'Triumphs of the imagination' Stephen Fry The treasured fairy tales of Oscar Wilde in a stunning gift edition featuring exquisite illustrations by the celebrated artist Philippe Jullian with an afterword by Wilde's son, Vyvyan Holland. For nearly 150 years, the classic fairy stories of Oscar Wilde have been cherished by readers of all ages. Rediscover all nine of the stories first published in The Happy Prince and other stories (1888) and A House of Pomegranates (1891).

When handsome young Dorian Gray sees a painter’s stunning portrait of him, he is transfixed by its reflection of his own beauty. He is also troubled by the knowledge that the image in the painting will remain forever youthful and handsome while he himself will grow older and less desirable. He wishes aloud that the roles were reversed, saying that he would give his soul if only the painting would suffer the ravages of time and he were to remain forever young. From that point on, Dorian lives a life of hedonistic indulgence, knowing that only the painting will show his moral corruption.

Two young gentlemen living in 1890's England use imaginary friends to inject some excitement into their seemingly dull lives. Jack Worthing invents a brother, "Ernest," whom he pretends to be in order to visit his beloved Gwendolen in the city. Meanwhile, friend Algy Moncrieff uses the name "Ernest" while visiting Jack's beautiful young ward, Cecily in the country. Much confusion ensues as the two women find out they have been deceived by their "Ernests." Some would call this a society comedy; others, a Victorian farce. Regardless of the term used, this full colour graphic novel captures the era effortlessly. With an intricate attention to detail, wonderful characterisation and dramatically expressive and humorous artwork, this really is a graphic novel to cherish.

Horror hides behind an attractive face in The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde's tale of a notorious Victorian libertine and his life of evil excesses. Though Dorian's hedonistic indulgences leave no blemish on his ageless features, the painted portrait imbued with his soul proves a living catalogue of corruption, revealing in its every new line and lesion the manifold sins he has committed. Desperate to hide the physical evidence of his unregenerate spirit, Dorian will stop at nothing—not even murder—to keep his picture's existence a secret.   A scandalous story when it was first published in 1890, The Picture of Dorian Gray is acknowledged as a landmark of literature today and a tale emblematic of its time. This volume is one of Barnes & Noble's Collectible Editions classics. Each volume features authoritative texts by the world's greatest authors in an exquisitely designed foil-stamped binding, with distinctive colored edging and an attractive ribbon bookmark. Decorative, durable, and collectible, these books offer hours of pleasure to readers young and old and are an indispensable cornerstone for any home library.

With an Introduction, Notes and Bibliography by Anne Varty, Royal Holloway, University of London. WILDE, GLAMOROUS AND NOTORIUS, more famous as a playwright or prisoner than as a poet, invites readers of his verse to meet an unknown and intimate figure. The poetry of his formative years includes the haunting elegy to his young sister and the grieving lyric at the death of his father. The religious drama of his romance with Rome is captured here, as well as its resolution in his renewed love of ancient Greece. He explores forbidden sexual desires, pays homage to the great theatre stars and poets of his day, observes cityscapes with impressionist intensity. His final masterpiece, The Ballad of Reading Gaol, tells the painful story of his own prison experience and calls for universal compassion. This edition of Wilde's verse presents the full range of his achievement as a poet.

Exam board: Edexcel Level & Subject: AS and A Level English Literature First teaching: September 2015 First examination: June 2017

Oscar Wilde's children's stories explore timeless themes of good and evil, freedom and responsibility, love and death, beauty and self-sacrifice. Featuring princesses, ogres and talking animals, the questions they pose are as pertinent now as they were at the turn of the century. What is love? asks 'The Happy Prince'. How do you get what you need? asks 'The Nightingale and the Rose'. How do you win friends (and avoid alienating people)? asks 'The Selfish Giant'. Can you have too much compassion? asks 'The Devoted Friend'. How can you set the world on fire? asks 'The Remarkable Rocket'. Wilde's stories have given pleasure to generations of readers. By turns moving and funny, they gently teach free thinking rather than giving prescriptive lessons. This beautiful collectors' edition with original watercolour illustrations and decorative motifs from the 1913 edition by Charles Robinson and an introduction by Wilde expert Michele Mendelssohn is certain to surprise and delight adults and children alike.

HarperCollins is proud to present its range of best-loved, essential classics. 'The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it.' When Basil Hallward paints the portrait of young, handsome Dorian Gray, he falls prey to his dazzling beauty. Afraid that his youth and looks will waste away, Dorian expresses a wish that his portrait, and not he, will age and fade over time. His wish is granted, and over the ensuing years, Dorian indulges in every kind of vice and pleasure, never ageing nor disfiguring. Only his portrait, hidden to the world, bears the marks of his actions, and as his soul grows ever more wasted and corrupted, devastating consequences lie in wait. The Picture of Dorian Gray is an exploration of the purpose of art, the superficial nature of youth and beauty, and the conflict between morality and intemperance. First published in its complete, uncensored form in 1891, it is Oscar Wilde's only novel.

New Way is a series of carefully graded phonic readers, providing a wide reading experience at similar levels of language. Learners are encouraged to take pleasure in becoming readers in their own right. Phonic copymasters help to develop and assess learnersA language skills. Features and Benefits Pre-reading, reading and post-reading graded material Multi-cultural and lifeskills oriented Suitable for classes of mixed ability, allowing learners to progress at their own pace Lays a firm foundation for literacy and promotes learning in an OBE curriculum

Includes pictures, notes and an extensive section on Oscar Wilde's life and works. Dorian Gray is having his picture painted by Basil Hallward, who is charmed by his looks. But when Sir Henry Wotton visits, and seduces Dorian into the worship of youthful beauty with an intoxicating speech, Dorian makes a wish he will live to regret: that all the marks of age will now be reflected in the portrait, rather than on Dorian's own face. The stage is now set for a masterful tale about appearance, reality, art, life, truth, fiction and the ultimate burden of conscience.

HarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved, essential classics. 'Dear Prince, I must leave you, but I will never forget you, and next spring I will bring you back two beautiful jewels in place of those you have given away. The ruby shall be redder than a red rose, and the sapphire shall be as blue as the great sea.' In 'The Happy Prince' a statue - jewelled and opulent - keeps careful watch over the city and its inhabitants. Enlisting the help of a swallow, his selfless acts bring comfort to those most in need. 'The Nightingale and the Rose' is a tragic tale of personal sacrifice in the name of love, while in 'The Selfish Giant' the end of an eternal winter finally brings springtime and happiness. In this collection of enchanting tales from a master storyteller, Oscar Wilde has entranced readers both young and old since publication in the late nineteenth century.

An innovative new edition of nine classic short stories from one of the greatest writers of the Victorian era. “I cannot think other than in stories,� Oscar Wilde once confessed to his friend André Gide. In this new selection of his short fiction, Wilde’s gifts as a storyteller are on full display, accompanied by informative facing-page annotations from Wilde biographer and scholar Nicholas Frankel. A wide-ranging introduction brings readers into the world from which the author drew inspiration. Each story in the collection brims with Wilde’s trademark wit, style, and sharp social criticism. Many are reputed to have been written for children, although Wilde insisted this was not true and that his stories would appeal to all “those who have kept the childlike faculties of wonder and joy.� “Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime� stands alongside Wilde’s comic masterpiece The Importance of Being Earnest, while other stories—including “The Happy Prince,� the tale of a young ruler who had never known sorrow, and “The Nightingale and the Rose,� the story of a nightingale who sacrifices herself for true love—embrace the theme of tragic, forbidden love and are driven by an undercurrent of seriousness, even despair, at the repressive social and sexual values of Wilde’s day. Like his later writings, Wilde’s stories are a sweeping indictment of the society that would imprison him for his homosexuality in 1895, five years before his death at the age of forty-six. Published here in the form in which Victorian readers first encountered them, Wilde’s short stories contain much that appeals to modern readers of vastly different ages and temperaments. They are the perfect distillation of one of the Victorian era’s most remarkable writers.

An authoritative edition of Oscar Wilde's critical writings shows how the renowned dramatist and novelist also transformed the art of commentary. Though he is primarily acclaimed today for his drama and fiction, Oscar Wilde was also one of the greatest critics of his generation. Annotated and introduced by Wilde scholar Nicholas Frankel, this unique collection reveals Wilde as a writer who transformed criticism, giving the genre new purpose, injecting it with style and wit, and reorienting it toward the kinds of social concerns that still occupy our most engaging cultural commentators. "Criticism is itself an art," Wilde wrote, and The Critical Writings of Oscar Wilde demonstrates this philosophy in action. Readers will encounter some of Wilde's most quotable writings, such as "The Decay of Lying," which famously avers that "Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates life." But Frankel also includes lesser-known works like "The American Invasion," a witty celebration of modern femininity, and "Aristotle at Afternoon Tea," in which Wilde deftly (and anonymously) carves up his former tutor's own criticism. The essays, reviews, dialogues, and epigrams collected here cover an astonishing range of themes: literature, of course, but also fashion, politics, masculinity, cuisine, courtship, marriage-the breadth of Victorian England. If today's critics address such topics as a matter of course, it is because Wilde showed that they could. It is hard to imagine a twenty-first-century criticism without him.

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. ‘The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it.’ When Basil Hallward paints the portrait of young, handsome Dorian Gray, he falls prey to his dazzling beauty. Afraid that his youth and looks will waste away, Dorian expresses a wish that his portrait, and not he, will age and fade over time. His wish is granted, and over the ensuing years, Dorian indulges in every kind of vice and pleasure, never ageing nor disfiguring. Only his portrait, hidden to the world, bears the marks of his actions, and as his soul grows ever more wasted and corrupted, devastating consequences lie in wait. The Picture of Dorian Gray is an exploration of the purpose of art, the superficial nature of youth and beauty, and the conflict between morality and intemperance. First published in its complete, uncensored form in 1891, it is Oscar Wilde’s only novel.

Playwright, poet, essayist, flamboyant man-about-town, Oscar Wilde pack an astonishing amount of work, genius, and controversy into two short decades, producing masterworks in every literary genre. This selection includes almost all of his short stories, including "The Canterville Ghost," "The Fisherman and his Soul," and "The Remarkable Rocket."

Alongside THE MODEL MILLIONAIRE, Harper Perennial will publish the short fiction of Fyodor Dostoevsky, Herman Melville, Willa Cather, Leo Tolstoy, and Stephen Crane to be packaged in a beautifully designed, boldly colorful boxset in the aim to attract contemporary fans of short fiction to these revered masters of the form. Also, in each of these selections will appear a story from one of the new collections being published in the "Summer of the Short Story." A story from Simon Van Booy's forthcoming collection, LOVE BEGINS IN WINTER, will be printed at the back of this volume.