The Definitive Collection of Oscar Wilde's Work
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Any omnibus edition of Oscar Wilde's work may as well be entitled "Dictionary of Quotations". There is no doubt that Wilde is a true Master of the English Language. So what makes the Collins edition so particular? Well, simply, it is laid out so beautifully, with each part (short stories, play. poems, &c) being introduced, the Appendices are a work of art in themselves. Reading it, too, is such a pleasure, the book lies wonderfully in the hands, especially when one has reached the plays and the poems in the middle. Ergonomics aside, the introductions (one to the 1966 edition and one to the 1994 edition) have been written by two men who can be considered to be authoritative on the subject, his son and his grandson. Merlin Holland, in his introduction, asks a rhetorical question, "Was Oscar Wilde a good writer?". The answer to this question is straightforward, one's views of Wilde's stories are irrelevant in comparison to Wilde's ease of narration, be it prose, play or poem and this book can only be described as heightening the pleasure one has in reading its pages and his words.
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The Definitive Collection of Oscar Wilde's Work
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|
Any omnibus edition of Oscar Wilde's work may as well be entitled "Dictionary of Quotations". There is no doubt that Wilde is a true Master of the English Language. So what makes the Collins edition so particular? Well, simply, it is laid out so beautifully, with each part (short stories, play. poems, &c) being introduced, the Appendices are a work of art in themselves. Reading it, too, is such a pleasure, the book lies wonderfully in the hands, especially when one has reached the plays and the poems in the middle. Ergonomics aside, the introductions (one to the 1966 edition and one to the 1994 edition) have been written by two men who can be considered to be authoritative on the subject, his son and his grandson. Merlin Holland, in his introduction, asks a rhetorical question, "Was Oscar Wilde a good writer?". The answer to this question is straightforward, one's views of Wilde's stories are irrelevant in comparison to Wilde's ease of narration, be it prose, play or poem and this book can only be described as heightening the pleasure one has in reading its pages and his words.
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The Definitive Collection of Oscar Wilde's Work
|
|
Any omnibus edition of Oscar Wilde's work may as well be entitled "Dictionary of Quotations". There is no doubt that Wilde is a true Master of the English Language. So what makes the Collins edition so particular? Well, simply, it is laid out so beautifully, with each part (short stories, play. poems, &c) being introduced, the Appendices are a work of art in themselves. Reading it, too, is such a pleasure, the book lies wonderfully in the hands, especially when one has reached the plays and the poems in the middle. Ergonomics aside, the introductions (one to the 1966 edition and one to the 1994 edition) have been written by two men who can be considered to be authoritative on the subject, his son and his grandson. Merlin Holland, in his introduction, asks a rhetorical question, "Was Oscar Wilde a good writer?". The answer to this question is straightforward, one's views of Wilde's stories are irrelevant in comparison to Wilde's ease of narration, be it prose, play or poem and this book can only be described as heightening the pleasure one has in reading its pages and his words.
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