Large Print - The Importance of Being Earnest - Grand Type Collector's Edition - Matte Hardcover with Dust Jacket - Hardcover

Wilde, Monsieur Oscar

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1834123437 ISBN 13: 9781834123431

Publisher: Grand Type Classics, 2025

Synopsis

Experience timeless classics like never before in this Grand Type Collector's Edition

With clear, easy-to-read formatting, this edition is designed for readers who prefer or require larger text without sacrificing the excitement of the original.

Large Print Features:

• 18-point font: Generously sized text for maximum readability and comfort.
• Sans-serif font: Clean, modern typeface designed to reduce visual strain.
• Italics are bolded: Important emphasis is maintained without thin, hard-to-see lettering.
• Easy-to-read line lengths: Shorter rows of text (under 45 characters per line) make reading smoother and less tiring.

In a world of witty banter and societal expectations, two bachelors craft elaborate double lives to escape the constraints of Victorian propriety. Jack invents a fictional brother, "Ernest," as an excuse for city escapades, while Algernon adopts the same name to charm Jack's young ward, Cecily. The scheme soon spirals out of control as mistaken identities, romantic entanglements, and absurd misunderstandings pile up. With dazzling wit and sharp dialogue, the play transforms trivial deceptions into a sparkling comedy that skewers the very conventions its characters cling to.

Widely regarded as Oscar Wilde's masterpiece, The Importance of Being Earnest redefined the comedy of manners with its bold satire and playful charm. First staged in 1895, it cleverly critiqued the rigid class expectations and hypocrisies of Victorian society. Its themes of identity, marriage, and deception remain strikingly relevant, and its fearless mockery of superficiality ensures its place as one of the most beloved and enduring plays in English literature.

About this title

About the Author

Oscar Wilde, born in 1854, was a celebrated Irish playwright, poet, and author, known for his sharp wit and flamboyant style. He gained fame in London's literary scene during the 1880s and 1890s, producing iconic works like The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Importance of Being Earnest. Wilde's writing, known for its humor, irony, and satirical commentary on society, established him as a master of the genre of comedy of manners.Wilde's personal life was equally dramatic, marked by his relationships with men in an era when homosexuality was illegal. His career took a tragic turn in 1895 when he was imprisoned for "gross indecency," after his affair with Lord Alfred Douglas was exposed. Wilde spent two years in prison, and upon release, he lived in exile in France, where he wrote The Ballad of Reading Gaol reflecting on his suffering.Despite his fall from grace, Wilde's legacy endured through his works, which continue to be celebrated for their brilliance and wit. His plays and novels remain a significant part of the Western literary canon, admired for their critique of societal norms and exploration of human nature. Wilde died in 1900 in relative obscurity, but his work has since been recognized as foundational to modern literature.

Edition details

• Publisher: Grand Type Classics
• Publication date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1834123437
• ISBN 13: 9781834123431
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 160