Collected Works of Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) has perhaps attracted more critical and biographical attention in recent years than any other writer of the late-nineteenth century. By the turn of the 1890s, he was emerging as one of the most influential essayists of his time. In the four years leading up to the trials of 1895, he produced four theatrically innovative Society comedies that transformed the Victorian stage.This 15 volume boxed set reprints the 1908 collected works together with the first trade edition of The Picture of Dorian Gray. Also included is Stuart Mason's comprehensive Bibliography of Oscar Wilde, which remains an indispensable tool of research.In his introduction to these volumes, Joseph Bristow discusses the major developments in critical understandings of Wilde and his works. He draws particular attention to the significance of recent debates within Anglo-Irish studies, in lesbian and gay studies, and in theatre history. Locating the Collected Works in the main cultural, historical, and political contexts of late-Victorian England, Bristow examines how Wilde's writing frequently adopts parodic masks to subvert the social order of the day, not least where sexual desire and sexual identity are concerned. He considers how and why Wilde's reputation suffered such harsh blows during the months leading up to the author's imprisonment with two years hard labour and solitary confinement in Reading Gaol.