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An Ideal Husband Audiobook
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(4.00) - 15,561 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
An Ideal Husband is an 1895 comedic stage play by Oscar Wilde which revolves around blackmail and political corruption, and touches on the themes of public and private honor. The action is set in London, in "the present", and takes place over the course of 24 hours. Together with The Importance of Being Earnest, it is often considered Wilde's dramatic masterpiece. After The Importance of Being Earnest, it is his most popularly produced play.
Performed by Michael Ward.
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"If you enjoy reading plays don't miss this one, it's one of my favorites. While I also enjoy Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Ernest I like this one a litte better, due to the political aspect of the story. It's funny, complex, and full of a lot of true about human nature."
— Dawn (5 out of 5 stars)
An Ideal Husband Listener Reviews
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" An amusing romantic comedy centered around the English nobility in London at the end of the nineteenth century. Wilde has a flair for satiric conversation and the use of one-liners. I enjoyed the movie more than the book. "
— Craig, 2/18/2014 -
" I liked this play a lot. It was the first play I have read since I started reading of my own accord (I mean not reading the necessary readings of highschool and college). It was much like a soap opera. I had sections of it sent to me from dailyreader.net and it kept me on the edge always wondering what the next part was going to be saying. Good play, I would like to see it live now! "
— Derrick, 2/16/2014 -
" This was my first Oscar Wilde book. The plot is a little thin, but it does get the atmosphere across very well and the different attitudes of the characters are conveyed extremely well and make for a great read! "
— Christian, 2/14/2014 -
" So. Now that I have read all of Oscar Wilde's plays, I have come to the conclusion that I wouldn't mind to study his work. I think that understanding the more subtle meanings of the text would help me appreciate it more, but I don't love his work enough for it to be ruined by too much studying. Anyway, I am personally not that fond of reading about misunderstandings all of the time, for the mostly annoy me, and since ALL of them were at least partly about people misunderstanding each other (except for Salome, which was a whole different story...) I am glad to be done with them, at least for now. "
— Ruby, 2/9/2014 -
" Brillant. As always. "
— Lieke, 2/9/2014 -
" Not quite as brilliant as The Importance of Being Earnest but a clever read nonetheless. "
— Alla, 1/23/2014 -
" This is one of the rare cases where I liked all of the male characters better than the female characters. Heh. I think this was one of Wilde's better plays, although I still wasn't really fond of it. It was an okay read, but no more than that for me. "
— Sandra, 1/15/2014 -
" Parts were fantastically sarcastic and quotable. "
— Sheree, 1/9/2014 -
" A fun, quick read. Two of my favorite literary marriage proposals. ;) "
— Sheridan, 12/31/2013 -
" I loved this story! It's a play that occurs in the space of 24 hours. Very fast paced. Very witty. Very humorously intelligent. Written in 1895 but very applicable today. "
— Debbie, 12/8/2013 -
" Such a fun play. Now I want to watch the movie again. "
— Cherie, 11/14/2013 -
" A typical Wilde play: Great characters, superb dialogue and lots of quotable witticisms. While I adore Wilde's plays, I must say that I don't always care all that much about the plots themselves--this one was surprisingly intriguing! "
— Rebecca, 11/7/2013 -
" This is my hands down, all-time favorite play ever! It's so witty and funny that I was laughing out loud several times. Definitely a must-read for anyone who enjoys a good play! Well done, Oscar Wilde!!! "
— Rose, 6/22/2013 -
" What a fun play with lots of surprises and twists and turns! Wilde uses his standard unique wit and spins a good yarn. "
— Jennifer, 4/18/2013 -
" I love the humor and wisdom in this play. Even the "bad girl" characters have something to offer. Paraphrasing here but when Gertrude says she hasn't changed a bit and Mrs. Cheevely replies "Then life has taught you nothing" AWESOME line. "
— Shari, 3/2/2013 -
" a perfect example of Wilde's infamous English wit. "
— Laura, 11/8/2012 -
" Saw the movie, read the book. Both are great. "
— Jasmine, 9/9/2012 -
" Does such a thing exist? After reading, I'm still not sure; but I did enjoy the chase. "
— Jason, 6/20/2012 -
" This man knew how to write entertaining plays. "
— Peter, 6/7/2012 -
" Prepare to laugh. If you don't laugh, you missed the jokes. "
— Janalynn, 3/11/2012 -
" Just saw an amatuer production of this.....and it was brilliant! there's nothing like oscar wilde for INCREADIBLE dialogue. I mean... 'meet me under the usual palm tree' ? that speaks for itself! ^_^ "
— Grace, 12/24/2011 -
" Listened to this on booksshouldbefree.com - very well done by multiple voices. Light humor to help with housework. "
— Julie, 12/11/2011 -
" Oscar Wilde at his best! "
— Nina, 11/22/2011 -
" I absolutely adore Oscar Wilde, and this is a great one. The movie with Rupert Everett is also phenoms. I would recommend to anyone looking for a political society satire that romps through the complexities of love when one is also a political figure or connected to one. "
— Kaity, 10/8/2011 -
" Okay - There were some great one-liners. "
— Elizabeth, 8/2/2011 -
" even back then insider trading could get one into some serious trouble eh, bless the british tradition of market ethics "
— Ming, 7/23/2011 -
" I think I'm a little in love with Lord Goring... "
— Emily, 5/15/2011 -
" I absolutely adore Oscar Wilde, and this is a great one. The movie with Rupert Everett is also phenoms. I would recommend to anyone looking for a political society satire that romps through the complexities of love when one is also a political figure or connected to one. "
— Kaity, 5/3/2011 -
" Very enjoyable although definitely moreso when watching it being performed on stage. "
— Dom, 4/5/2011 -
" His best play. (Not an opinion, a fact; I performed a double-blind study, placing a pirate eye-patch over each of my eyes and coming to that decision; that's science for you!)<br/> "
— A.E., 3/16/2011 -
" This was a quick, fun read - an entertaining play by Oscar Wilde. Really enjoyed it. "
— Danica, 3/3/2011 -
" OH! Lord Goring....!!!! i hate miss mabel so hard!!! "
— konneko, 3/3/2011 -
" Another quick read by Oscar Wilde. This was also pretty funny. I like this guy's style of writing. "
— Nancee, 2/14/2011 -
" For some reason I'm always hesitant to pick up Oscar Wilde's plays, but after 10 minutes of reading them, I can never put them down. There is all the typical satire in <em>An Ideal Husband</em>, but it's also beautiful and insightful. "
— Marcus, 2/1/2011 -
" Does such a thing exist? After reading, I'm still not sure; but I did enjoy the chase. "
— Jason, 1/9/2011 -
" Seen the movie, of course, but I read the play for book club. Enjoyed it immensely (ah, witty Wilde!), but was irritated at the ending. Platitudes about women's lives being less valuable than a man's seriously light my fuse. "
— Tiffany, 12/10/2010 -
" Another favorite from dear Wilde. "
— Ironlemonade, 12/5/2010
About Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) was born in Dublin. He won scholarships to both Trinity College, Dublin, and Magdalen College, Oxford. In 1875, he began publishing poetry in literary magazines, and in 1878, he won the coveted Newdigate Prize for English poetry. He had a reputation as a flamboyant wit and man-about-town. After his marriage to Constance Lloyd in 1884, he tried to establish himself as a writer, but with little initial success. However, his three volumes of short fiction, The Happy Prince, Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime, and A House of Pomegranates, together with his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, gradually won him a reputation as a modern writer with an original talent. That reputation was confirmed and enhanced by the phenomenal success of his society comedies: Lady Windermere’s Fan, A Woman of No Importance, An Ideal Husband, and The Importance of Being Earnest, all performed on London’s West End stage between 1892 and 1895. In 1895, he was convicted of engaging in homosexual acts, which were then illegal, and sentenced to two years imprisonment with hard labor. He soon declared bankruptcy, and his property was auctioned off. In 1896, he lost legal custody of his children. When his mother died that same year, his wife Constance visited him at the jail to bring him the news. It was the last time they saw each other. In the years after his release, his health deteriorated. In November 1900, he died in Paris at the age of forty-six.