![]() The work is dedicated to the Irish-American writer Frank Harris, who is said to have given Wilde the idea to use insider trading (which related to Disraeli's financial machinations) as part of the plot here. But none of this weighs down Wilde's witty banter, as the play suggests, after all, that even when there is a pretense of the embrace of moral probity, nobody is ever that good or is even expected to be. The play moves its characters toward a more ideal moral standard as they struggle with dishonesty, hypocrisy, double standards, materialism, and corruption of social and political life. ![]() Opening at the Haymarket Theatre in 1895 and continuing for 124 performances, it features as the title character a prominent politician in danger of losing his reputation because of a potentially damaging letter that the play's villain threatens to expose if the husband refuses to support the former's corrupt political agenda. This is an exceptionally fine copy of Wilde's second hit play, successful like his other witty comedies, but with at least slightly more serious social and political content. รข Spine slightly sunned (as virtually always), but no wear to joints or hinges and, in all, A REMARKABLY WELL-PRESERVED, OBVIOUSLY UNREAD COPY (because unopened), and without the soiling this edition is almost always found with. Original lavender cloth decorated with gilt flourishes, smooth spine with gilt lettering, edges untrimmed and ENTIRELY UNOPENED. ![]()
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