{"product_id":"plays-prose-writings-and-poems-of-oscar-wilde-introduction-by-terry-eagleton-9780679405832","title":"Plays, Prose Writings and Poems of Oscar Wilde: Introduction by Terry Eagleton","description":"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eOscar Wilde\u003c\/b\u003e (1854-1900) was born in Dublin, the second son of charismatic parents, his father a surgeon, his mother a poet. Ungainly and awkward as a child, he won an open scholarship to Trinity College, Dublin, and went from there to Magdalen College, Oxford, where he took a First in Greats, won the Newdigate Prize for Poetry and announced that 'Somehow or other I'll be famous, and if not famous, notorious'. In London he set about establishing himself as a poet and wit, and when Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera \u003ci\u003ePatience\u003c\/i\u003e toured the USA in 1882 he was invited to give a speech before every performance so that American audiences could recognize the 'perfectly precious young aesthete' satirized in the character of Bunthorne. This brought him both celebrity and money, and in 1884 he married Constance Lloyd, by whom he had two sons. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHe began writing fairy tales while working as editor of \u003ci\u003eThe Lady's World\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Happy Prince\u003c\/i\u003e was published in 1888. His first play, Vera, had been a failure, but in 1892 \u003ci\u003eLady Windermere's Fan\u003c\/i\u003e was staged with great success. This was swiftly followed by three other enomously successful comedies, the most famous being \u003ci\u003eThe Importance of Being Earnest \u003c\/i\u003e(1895). Wilde died in France, aged only 46. His plays remain as popular today as ever before. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAlthough he read his fairy stories to his two young sons, he claimed they were ' . . . not for children, but for childlike people from eighteen to eighty'.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Everyman's Library","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51661029867794,"sku":"9780679405832","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_af103392-393f-4bad-bd5e-d51182731990.jpg?v=1760433927","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/plays-prose-writings-and-poems-of-oscar-wilde-introduction-by-terry-eagleton-9780679405832","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}