An Ideal Husband
Oscar Wilde
An Ideal Husband
A political comedy about blackmail, a fortune built on a secret, and the damage caused by demanding moral perfection from another person.
Read our takeThe Importance of Being Earnest
Oscar Wilde
The Importance of Being Earnest
by Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde's best-known comedy: two men invent useful false identities, two women insist on marrying someone named Ernest, and a handbag resolves the plot.
- 1899
- Wry
- funny
- plot-driven
- voice-driven
About Oscar Wilde
The story, briefly
Spoiler-freeThe Importance of Being Earnest follows Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff, two English gentlemen who use invented people to escape social duties. Jack calls himself Ernest in London; Algernon visits Jack's country house while pretending to be that invented brother. Their lies collide with Gwendolen Fairfax and Cecily Cardew, both of whom believe the name Ernest proves a man's character.
The story, in more detail
The comedy opened at the St James's Theatre in London on 14 February 1895. Its first run ended during Wilde's criminal trials, when his name was removed from the playbill.
The plot makes identity depend on names, clothes, food, addresses, and documents. Serious Victorian institutions—marriage, family line, education, religion—operate through the same arbitrary rules as the invented friend Bunbury.
The play
Jack proposes to Gwendolen and learns that her mother, Lady Bracknell, objects less to his conduct than to his uncertain parentage.
Algernon goes to Jack's country house as the fictional Ernest and becomes engaged to Cecily. The two women compare stories, the false identities collapse, and Jack's origin is traced through a lost handbag.
Why we recommend it
Why it matters
It is the clearest display of Wilde's comic timing, dialogue, and attack on social rules.
Where it fits
It is the best first Wilde work for most readers and can be read in one sitting.
What this book explores
Timeline
1899
The play premiered in 1895. Leonard Smithers published the first book edition in 1899; this page uses 1895 as the work's public debut.
Modern editions
Editors continue to publish the work alone and in collections; introductions and notes explain the relevant performance or textual history.
Book editions
Hardcover
- Hardcover
- Leonard Smithers and Company
- 1899
Reader reviews
Readers may also like
Lady Windermere's Fan
Oscar Wilde
Lady Windermere's Fan
A society comedy in which a young wife suspects her husband, an excluded woman returns, and a fan becomes evidence that tells the wrong story.
Read our takeThe Importance of Being Earnest: frequently asked questions
What is The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde about?
The Importance of Being Earnest follows Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff, two English gentlemen who use invented people to escape social duties. Jack calls himself Ernest in London; Algernon visits Jack's country house while pretending to be that invented brother. Their lies collide with Gwendolen Fairfax and Cecily Cardew, both of whom believe the name Ernest proves a man's character.
When was The Importance of Being Earnest published?
The play premiered in 1895. Leonard Smithers published the first book edition in 1899; this page uses 1895 as the work's public debut.
Should I read The Importance of Being Earnest first?
Yes. The Importance of Being Earnest is one of the clearest places to start with Oscar Wilde.