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Cover of Lady Windermere’s Fan

Classic Fiction

Lady Windermere’s Fan

A witty comedy that subverts the harsh social codes of Victorian England.

First published
1892
Length
19,863 words
Reading time
About 1 hr 23 min
Language
English (UK)

About the book

Lady Windermere, who suspects that her husband is having an affair, decides to leave him. Her erstwhile rival, Mrs. Erlynne, comes to her rescue, and convinces her to return to Lord Windermere before the situation becomes a scandal. In so doing, Mrs. Erlynne exposes herself to scandal, and must choose between her own reputation and saving the Windermeres’ relationship.

Lady Windermere’s Fan was Oscar Wilde’s first hit play, and the first of his enormously popular comedies of society, which culminated with The Importance of Being Earnest . It opened on February 20, 1892 at the St. James’s Theatre in London, and went on to tour the country for months.

the Read4Max reading text contains approximately 19,863 words arranged in 8 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.