Showing results by author "Oscar Wilde"

Dorian Gray, a handsome and narcissistic young man, lives thoughtlessly for his own pleasure - an attitude encouraged by the company he keeps. One day, after having his portrait painted, Dorian makes a frivolous Faustian wish: that he should always remain as young and beautiful as he is in that painting, while the portrait grows old in his stead.

The Picture of Dorian Gray is the story of a man who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for eternal youth. As Basil Hallward, an aspiring artist, puts a few touches on a portrait of his handsome young friend Dorian Gray, Gray wishes that the portrait might grow old while he remains forever young. While Dorian Gray spends his life pursuing fresh experiences and new sensations, his looks do not change. However, the portrait, secretly hidden in the attic of his residence and with which he has grown increasingly obsessed, does.

A sparkling collection of the major works of the ever-adored Oscar Wilde, with incredible casts including Judi Dench, Martin Clunes, Michael Sheen, Miriam Margolyes, Ian McDiarmid, Joely Richardson, Penelope Keith, Martin Jarvis, Diana Rigg, Simon Russell Beale, Sheila Hancock, Ian McKellen and Stephen Fry.

"The Picture of Dorian Gray" is Oscar Wilde's classic tale of the moral decline of its title character, Dorian Gray. When Dorian has his portrait painted by Basil Hallward and wishes that he would stay young while his picture changes, his wish comes true. In exchange for this Dorian gives up his soul and, as he ages, the bad deeds that he commits are reflected in his painting and not on him. "The Picture of Dorian Gray", arguably Wilde's most popular work, was considered quite scandalous when it was first published in the late 1800s in Victorian England.

Four classic comedies from one of the wittiest playwrights in Western literature: Lady Windermere's Fan, A Woman of No Importance, An Ideal Husband, and The Importance of Being Earnest, all featuring star-studded casts with the likes of Jacqueline Bisset, Miriam Margolyes, James Marsters, Alfred Molina, Roger Rees, Yeardley Smith, Eric Stoltz, and many more. This audio also includes a chilling dramatization of Wilde's sole novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray.

A disturbing tale of a young man's uncanny ability to remain both young and beautiful while descending into a life of heartless debauchery, The Picture of Dorian Gray was considered proof of both Wilde's genius and his perversion. Oscar Wilde's scandalous best seller of 1891 was one of the most damning pieces of evidence used against him in the trial that brought about his downfall.

"Oscar Wilde's Fairy Tales continue to exert the same pull over the imagination and emotions as they did when he first read them to his children in the 1880s. Written with inspired poetic intensity and sudden flowerings of the matchless wit for which he is so well remembered, the stories combine the wisdom of parables with the impact of drama."

A young man commits all types of sins, but only his portrait shows the ravages of his life. Oscar Wilde's Faustian classic. Gothic horror at its best.

Algernon Moncrieff, a bachelor-about-town, has invented an invalid friend called Bunbury in order to get out of tiresome family engagements. At the same time, his friend, Jack Worthing, has invented a wicked brother called Ernest to disguise his own misdemeanours. When Algernon poses as Ernest to win the heart of Cecily Cardew, confusion reigns, and it takes the discovery of an old black handbag to reveal the truth.

Written during his time in Reading Gaol, De Profundis is Oscar Wilde's moving letter to Lord Alfred Douglas, whose relationship with Wilde led to the poet's imprisonment. Here Wilde repudiates Lord Alfred and reflects on his ordeal, acknowledging how the depths of his sorrow have helped liberate him toward a fuller, freer wisdom. Brimming with beautiful passages, De Profundis is a profound and inspiring treatise on the meaning of suffering.

Here is a collection of the Oscar Wilde's famous fairy tales, read by a cast of leading British actors. Additional narrators include Geoffrey Palmer O.B.E., Sir Donald Sinden, and Elaine Stritch. Music: 'Reverie De Sebastian' by Steve Davies.

This collection contains Oscar Wilde's four best-known comedies: The Importance of Being Earnest; Lady Windermere's Fan; An Ideal Husband; and A Woman of No Importance. All of them satirize upper-class English society of the 1890s, dramatizing scandalous secrets, political and marital intrigue, and dandyish bad behavior with Wilde's trademark wit and wisdom.

Dans la première nouvelle, "Le Crime de Lord Arthur Savile", on entre d'emblée dans une soirée mondaine. Septimus R. Podgers, chiromancien, prédit à Lord Arthur Savile qu'il sera l'auteur d'un crime. Le jeune homme, désespéré, croit ses plans de mariage contrariés et va tenter de forcer le destin.

Five fables: "The Happy Prince", "The Nightingale and the Rose", "The Selfish Giant", "The Devoted Friend", "The Remarkable Rocket". Each illustrates a moral, contrasting fake with real, selfishness with unselfishness, though Wilde wrote "I like to fancy that there may be many meanings in the tale". First published in 1888.

The most personal of Oscar Wilde's works, The Picture of Dorian Grey was also one of the earliest. It was published in 1891 and caused immediate controversy and great notoriety for its writer. The story of an immensely beautiful and hedonistic boy whose conscience becomes separate from his body and housed in a portrait which slowly and hideously ages and decays in keeping with his increasing depravity whilst the boy himself remains untouched plays with all of Oscar Wilde's theories of art and life.

A haunting, magical fairy tale collection, in which Oscar Wilde beautifully evokes (amongst others) 'The Happy Prince', who was not so happy after all; 'The Selfish Giant', who learned to love little children; and 'The Star Child', who did not love his parents as much as he should.

Magical listening for young and old, narrated by John Moffatt.

Lord Arthur Saviles's Crime is a masterpiece of polished cynicism, in which poison, explosive clocks and finally murder forerun married bliss. Each of the eight stories here were published in the heyday of Wilde's career, between 1887 and 1891.

This is a story from the The Happy Prince and Other Stories collection.

The Picture of Dorian Gray uscì originariamente nel luglio del 1890 sul Lippincott's Monthly Magazine. Nell'aprile 1891 Wilde fece stampare in volume il romanzo, unendovi la propria prefazione. In questa occasione la pubblicazione originale fu ampliata con l’aggiunta di alcuni capitoli, operazione che forse appesantì l’opera, invece che migliorarla. Nei capitoli, però, in cui non accade “niente”, se non le chiacchiere di qualche salotto si ha però lo specchio di una società annoiata che è il terreno, secondo Wilde, in cui nascono i peccati, pertanto, in questo audiolibro, sono stati mantenuti.

An Ideal Husband is an 1895 comedy by Oscar Wilde which revolves around blackmail and political corruption, and touches on the themes of public and private honor. The action is set in London, and takes place over the course of 24 hours.