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The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays

The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays book cover
TI
Classics Fiction

by Oscar Wilde, Richard Allen Cave

starstarstarstarstar_half
4.26 (41K ratings)
calendar_today 1954
description 431 pages

The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays by Oscar Wilde, Richard Allen Cave holds a highly rated rating of 4.26 out of 5, based on 41K reader ratings. First published in 1954. The book spans 431 pages.

About The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays

Combining epigrammatic brilliance and shrewd social observation, the works collected in Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays are edited with an introduction, commentaries and notes by Richard Allen Cave in Penguin Classics.'To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness'The Importance of Being Earnest is a glorious comedy of mistaken identity, which ridicules codes of propriety and etiquette. Manners and morality are also victims of Wilde's sharp wit in Lady Windermere's Fan, A Woman of No Importance and An Ideal Husband, in which snobbery and hypocrisy are laid bare. In Salomé and A Florentine Tragedy, Wilde makes powerful use of historical settings to explore the complex relationship between sex and power. The range of these plays displays Wilde's delight in artifice, masks and disguises, and reveals the pretentions of the social world in which he himself played such a dazzling and precarious part.Richard Allen Cave's introduction and notes discuss the themes of the plays and Wilde's innovative methods of staging. This edition includes the excised 'Gribsby' scene from The Importance of Being Earnest.

Detail Value
Author Oscar Wilde, Richard Allen Cave
Published 1954
Pages 431
Genres Classics, Fiction
Average Rating 4.26 / 5.00
Total Ratings 41,002

Reader Ratings & Analysis

Rating Overview

4.3
starstarstarstarstar_half
41K ratings
With a rating of 4.26, The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays is rated near the global average of 4.17. Compared to its genre average of 4.03, it performs above expectations.

How It Compares

4.26
This Book
4.03
Classics Average
4.17
Global Average

Frequently Asked Questions

What genre is The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays?

The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays is categorized as Classics, Fiction. Its primary genre classification is Classics.

Is The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays worth reading?

Based on 41K reader ratings, The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays has an average score of 4.26 out of 5.00, which is considered "Highly Rated."

How many pages is The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays?

The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays has 431 pages.

Who wrote The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays?

The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays was written by Oscar Wilde, Richard Allen Cave. It was first published in 1954.

What is the ISBN for The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays?

The ISBN-13 for The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays is 9780140436070.0.

Data sourced from community book ratings and reviews. Last updated: April 21, 2026