Oscar Wilde was born in Dublin in 1854 and died in Paris in 1900 at the age of 46. In between lay a meteoric career.

He was in his late thirties when he took London by storm. THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST and THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GREY gave him a glittering reputation when, at 41, in the scandal of the century, he was sent to prison for two years for homosexual conduct. He died five years later, alone, and in obscurity.

His short stories, all published early in his career, are of two kinds, both represented in this collection: witty social comedies like "Lord Arthur Saville's Crime," and profoundly imaginative fairy tales such as "The Happy Prince."