The Picture of Dorian Gray & The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde [LEATHER-BOUND HARDCOVER] 1986 • Booklovers Library

The Picture of Dorian Gray & The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde 

LEATHER BOUND EDITON [1986] THE BOOKLOVERS LIBRARY

Rare vintage European import. Gorgeous heavyweight hardcover w gilded frontispiece, raised bands on spine, and marbled endpapers.

Book is in excellent condition.  Boards have some wear to corners [see photos] -Otherwise mint.  Reads as new with tanning to pages.

Oscar Wilde’s only novel is the dreamlike story of a young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty.

In this celebrated work Wilde forged a devastating portrait of the effects of evil and debauchery on a young aesthete in late-19th-century England. Combining elements of the Gothic horror novel and decadent French fiction, the book centers on a striking premise: As Dorian Gray sinks into a life of crime and gross sensuality, his body retains perfect youth and vigor while his recently painted portrait grows day by day into a hideous record of evil, which he must keep hidden from the world. For over a century, this mesmerizing tale of horror and suspense has enjoyed wide popularity. It ranks as one of Wilde's most important creations and among the classic achievements of its kind.

The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde's madcap farce about mistaken identities, secret engagements, and lovers entanglements still delights readers more than a century after its 1895 publication and premiere performance.

Cecily Cardew and Gwendolen Fairfax are both in love with the same mythical suitor. Jack Worthing has wooed Gwendolen as Ernest while Algernon has also posed as Ernest to win the heart of Jack's ward, Cecily. When all four arrive at Jack's country home on the same weekend the "rivals" to fight for Ernest's undivided attention and the "Ernests" to claim their beloveds pandemonium breaks loose. Only a senile nursemaid and an old, discarded hand-bag can save the day!