The Importance of Being Earnest

Jack Worthington is an upstanding gentleman in Victorian society. He just has one secret-he tells everyone that he has a brother named Earnest, when, in reality, Earnest is his alter ego. This allows him a certain duality; he can go out and party as Earnest, but have a sterling reputation as Jack. However, he must merge the two when Jack discovers that his lover, Gwendolyn, will only marry a man named Earnest. Meanwhile, Algernon, a family friend, discovers Jack's secret and (much to Jack's dismay) becomes increasingly interested in Jack's ward, Cecily. After inviting himself to Jack's home and introducing himself as Earnest, Algernon quickly gains the attention of Cecily. Believing that he was the fictious Earnest Worthington, Cecily considered herself already to be engaged to him, as it is also her dream to be married to a man named Earnest. Chaos unravels as the men then find themselves with two matters of grave importance: Gwendolyn and Cecily can not both marry Earnest Worthington, and Jack and Algernon can not let them know that Earnest never existed in the first place.
When first released, The Importance of Being Earnest was dubbed as a "trivial comedy for serious people". While Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest is certain to bring a smile to its audience, it also serves as witty satire of Victorian London and marriage. The Importance of Being Earnest has been revered on stage and on film, as well as in print. Wilde captures the audience with a comedic plot, authentic characters and a promise not to take itself too seriously.
Enjoy The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde with new and modern fonts and an eye-catching cover. Though it has outlived the society it mocks, The Importance of Being Earnest continues to be comedic gold even in the 21st century.

Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (1854 - 1900) was an Irish playwright, novelist, essayist and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s. He is remembered for his epigrams, his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, his plays, as well as the circumstances of his imprisonment and early death. Wilde's parents were successful Anglo-Irish Dublin intellectuals. Their son became fluent in French and German early in life. At university, Wilde read Greats; he proved himself to be an outstanding classicist, first at Dublin, then at Oxford. He became known for his involvement in the rising philosophy of aestheticism, led by two of his tutors, Walter Pater and John Ruskin. After university, Wilde moved to London into fashionable cultural and social circles. As a spokesman for aestheticism, he tried his hand at various literary activities: he published a book of poems, lectured in the United States and Canada on the new "English Renaissance in Art" and then returned to London where he worked prolifically as a journalist. Known for his biting wit, flamboyant dress and glittering conversation, Wilde became one of the best-known personalities of his day.