I Can Resist Everything Except Temptation is a celebration of the virtuoso of well-turned phrases and the master of the studied insult - Oscar Wilde. Indeed, so perfect were Wilde's verbal thrusts that his victims were often flattered to have been the cause of them. His needle-sharp rejoinders were repeated with delight - not least by Wilde himself, who took an artist's pride in his work. Yet for all that, his jibes were rarely cruel, for behind them lay great warmth of character, generosity of spirit, and a profound understanding of human life and its vanities. This book shows us why, more than a hundred years after his death, people of every age and from all walks of life are still drawn to Wilde's dazzling repartee and the wicked brilliance of his social observations, while his plays and stories continue to entertain and enthral succeeding generations.

I Can Resist Everything Except Temptation is a celebration of the virtuoso of well-turned phrases and the master of the studied insult - Oscar Wilde. Indeed, so perfect were Wilde's verbal thrusts that his victims were often flattered to have been the cause of them. His needle-sharp rejoinders were repeated with delight - not least by Wilde himself, who took an artist's pride in his work. Yet for all that, his jibes were rarely cruel, for behind them lay great warmth of character, generosity of spirit, and a profound understanding of human life and its vanities. This book shows us why, more than a hundred years after his death, people of every age and from all walks of life are still drawn to Wilde's dazzling repartee and the wicked brilliance of his social observations, while his plays and stories continue to entertain and enthral succeeding generations.