The Critical Writings of Oscar Wilde

A lucid guide to the dissident thought of Oscar Wilde, who attacked the genteel gender norms and philanthropic pieties of imperial Britain. At this moment of cultural crisis in the dwindling humanities, Wilde's eloquent defense of individualism, as well as his celebration of the beauty and power of art, could not be more timely. -- Camille Paglia, author of <i>Sexual Personae</i> Wilde was a first-rate critic and an essayist and a thoughtful provocateur years before he became a successful playwright, a scandalous novelist, or a queer icon: he's still a terrific critic today, with a range wider than almost anyone knows. Here are essays you've read if you care about Wilde already ('The Decay of Lying') and essays even scholars may not have seen. Here is the impossible socialist, anti-populist radical, anti-Platonic creator of Platonic dialogues, infinitely insatiable individualist, and, of course, 'The Critic as Artist.' If you're like me, you owe it to yourself to return to him and check him out. We shall not see his like again. -- Stephanie Burt, author of <i>Don't Read Poetry</i> It is refreshing to see Wilde the critic take center stage. This is an astute selection showing the full range of the essays, dialogues, and reviews that helped make Oscar's name, brought together expertly by Nicholas Frankel, whose characteristically insightful introduction is essential reading. -- Kate Hext, author of <i>Walter Pater</i>