Publisher Description
The Happy Prince lived in the Palace of Sans Souci, where sorrow was not allowed to enter, and only pleasure was experienced. Then, a gilded statue set on top of a high column allowed him to see all the wretchedness of the poor, the sick and the lonely who inhabited his great city. What develops is a story of sacrifice and redemption that is a parable for our time.
This program includes nine of Oscar Wilde’s magical and haunting fairy tales. Written for his own sons, Wilde’s tales will provide equal delight for children of today.
Included here are:
1. “The Happy Prince”
2. “The Selfish Giant”
3. “The Devoted Friend”
4. “The Remarkable Rocket”
5. “The Nightingale and the Rose”
6. “The Young King”
7. “The Birthday of the Infanta”
8. “The Star-Child”
9. “The Fisherman and His Soul”
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"And here I thought that Oscar Wilde only wrote cheeky, ironic comedies. It has been nearly a year since a friend advised me to look into his fairy-tales, and now I can only wonder what took me so long and echo that friend's recommendation: they are beautiful. My only complaint is that Wilde's cynicism about human nature -- displayed so hilariously in the likes of The Importance of Being Earnest --here takes on a sombre, tragic note surprising in children's stories; several tales left me flat-out depressed and disgusted with humanity. However, these only served to make the moments of redemption all the more triumphant. The mastery of the English language behind the clever wordplay in Wilde's comedies is here translated into gorgeous prose that is almost poetry. I was amazed at the wide range of emotion and meaning he is able to pack into a single, simple image -- a bird and a thorn, a stone wall around a garden -- but then, that's as a good fairy tale should be. Bravo, Mr. Wilde."
—
Cassandra (5 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 Johanna Ward
Johanna Ward (a.k.a. Kate Reading) is an Audie Award–winning narrator and has received numerous Earphones Awards from AudioFile magazine. She is also a theater actor in the Washington, DC, area and has been a member of Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company since 1987. Her work onstage has been recognized by the Helen Hayes Awards Society, among others. She and her husband live in Hyattsville, Maryland, with their two children.