Publisher Description
Oscar Wilde’s delightful story comes to life with vivid performances by Mark Redfield and Mackenzie Menter (as Virginia), with an original music score by Jennifer Rouse. One of the first stories Wilde published in 1887, “The Canterville Ghost” tells the story of an American family that moves into a haunted country house in England. At first disbelieving in ghosts, the family soon accepts, and then combats, the ghostly antics of Sir Simon de Canterville. Sir Simon has haunted Canterville Chase in various ghastly disguises for years, and becomes increasingly frustrated at the American family’s attempts to spoil the fun. Only little Virginia reaches out to Sir Simon, and with her help, the garrulous ghost is able to find peace. Wilde’s story combines macabre whimsy and gentle humor, making it perennially popular. “He made me see what Life is, and what Death signifies, and why Love is stronger than both.” – The Canterville Ghost.
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"I loved this book. I was giggling the whole time...well most of the time. (I am a chicken, and should never read anything with the word 'ghost' in the title at midnight, alone in my living room.) I loved how the Ghost chose his characters and costumes with such care. I think my favorite line of the whole book was "He selected Friday, the 17th of August, for his appearance, and spent most of that day in looking over his wardrobe, ultimately deciding in favour of a large slouched hat with a red feather, a winding-sheet frilled at the wrists and neck, and a rusty dagger." It sounded like a Mary Higgins-Clark heroine deciding what to wear before she pulls her hair into a chignon, dons a caftan, and begins to make her omelet. Delicious fun. My favorite characters of the book were the horrid little Otis Twins. Oh, they were naughty! Having little naughty boys of my own, their antics seemed quite plausible and hilarious. Oh, the Facebook statuses Mrs. Otis could post about those two! Of course, I was frustrated that the story drops off before giving you the really scary bits, but oh well. It was just so much fun. I am sure there is some piece of fan-fiction, somewhere, that speculates on Virginia's scary ordeal. :)"
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Erin (4 out of 5 stars)
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.
About Mark Redfield
Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1848) transformed the American literary landscape with his innovations in the short story genre and his haunting lyrical poetry, and he is credited with inventing American gothic horror and detective fiction. He was first published in 1827 and then began a career as a magazine writer and editor and a sharp literary critic. In 1845 the publication of his most famous poem, “The Raven,” brought him national fame.