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The Importance of Being Earnest
- Narrated by: David McCallion
- Length: 2 hrs and 23 mins
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Ancient, Classical & Medieval Literature
Summary
The Importance of Being Earnest is a play written by the renowned playwright and author, Oscar Wilde. It premiered in London on Valentines Day, 1895, and was an instant success.
With The Importance of Being Earnest, Wilde accomplished what he'd set out to do, which was to make light of the humorous behavior of British high society. In this satirical comedy, the protagonist goes to great lengths to escape boring social obligations and what many thought of as overly confining yet hypocritical attitudes of the late Victorian era.
Although The Importance of Being Earnest was one of Oscar Wilde's most successful works, along with The Picture of Dorian Gray, his career as a comedy writer was short lived due to being imprisoned 1895. After his release, Wilde made an attempt to revive his writing career while exiled in Paris but was unsuccessful.
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What listeners say about The Importance of Being Earnest
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- Carlos
- 09-07-18
A Satirical Masterpiece
This timeless classic will certainly make anyone laugh out loud! The witty comedy and satire will certainly brighten your whole day. The reader David McCallion did a brilliant job in narrating this short play...His character voices were spectacular and really enhanced the performance.
3 people found this helpful
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- Norman A. Belanger
- 08-09-19
Excellent material, unfortunate casting
Oscar Wilde’s work is witty, sparkling. But, in the performances of this cast, his brilliant lines are read a flatly dull as if the actors were reading phone books. The accents are not those of Mayfair and Belgrave Square, but atonal, and mostly American. Disappointing to the point of distraction to hear these light, effortless lines read with no sense of play, no comedy, no inflection.
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- Joan
- 05-03-18
Ridiculous
This was a great narrator for a ridiculously silly story. I did not love it but I did want to finish.