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Cover of An Ideal Husband

Classic Fiction

An Ideal Husband

by Oscar Wilde

Over the course of twenty-four hours, a blackmail plot threatens to bring down a member of the British aristocracy.

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First published
1895
Length
30,748 words
Reading time
About 2 hr 9 min
Language
English (UK)

About the book

Sir and Lady Chiltern are the picture of responsibility: he a member of the House of Commons, she a member of the Women’s Liberal Association. When Mrs. Cheveley arrives in London, she brings with her a letter that threatens to ruin Sir Chiltern forever—his whole life threatens to come crumbling down. The following twenty-four hours are filled with theft, blackmail, farce, and biting social commentary.

An Ideal Husband was first performed in 1893 at the Haymarket Theatre, and it was immediately successful. On April 6th, the same day it transferred to the Criterion Theatre, Oscar Wilde was arrested for gross indecency, and his name was removed from the play. Wilde revised the play for publication in 1899, taking steps to add written stage directions and character descriptions in order to make the work more accessible to the public. Today it’s Wilde’s second most popular play, after The Importance of Being Earnest .

First published 1895; the Read4Max reading text contains approximately 30,748 words arranged in 6 navigable sections.

About the author

Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) is described by Wikidata as Irish poet, playwright, and aesthete (1854-1900), with citizenship or national association recorded as United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Ireland, United Kingdom, and France.

Recorded occupations include poet, playwright, short story writer, children's writer, novelist, and writer. Languages recorded for Oscar Wilde include English, French, Latin, Ancient Greek, and German. The structured record associates Oscar Wilde with Aestheticism and Decadent movement. Wikidata lists The Importance of Being Earnest, The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Canterville Ghost, The Soul of Man under Socialism, and The Ballad of Reading Gaol among Oscar Wilde's notable works. Open Library identifies The Picture of Dorian Gray as a leading work in its author record. Open Library catalogs 5546 works under this author record. The Read4Max catalog currently includes A Woman of No Importance, An Ideal Husband, Children’s Stories, Lady Windermere’s Fan, Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime and Other Stories, Poetry, and The Importance of Being Earnest under Oscar Wilde's authorship.

1854–1900

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