Four bewitching fairy tales from the author of The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Importance of Being Earnest.
Oscar Wilde’s follow-up to The Happy Prince and Other Stories, A House of Pomegranates contains four darkly enchanting fairy tales by the Irish poet and playwright.
In “The Young King,” a lowly shepherd’s son finds himself next in line for the throne. A dwarf performing for a Spanish princess’s birthday must face the consequences of seeing his own reflection in “The Birthday of the Infanta.” In “The Fisherman and His Soul,” a man is faced with a terrible choice after falling in love with a beautiful mermaid. And an arrogant young boy, who believes he is the son of an actual star, learns a bitter lesson when he is brought down to earth in “The Star-Child.”
Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) was an Irish playwright, novelist, essayist, and poet. Celebrated on both sides of the Atlantic for his wit, he is rumored to have informed a customs agent upon his arrival in America, “I have nothing to declare but my genius.” Wilde’s health and reputation were destroyed by his imprisonment for “gross indecency” in 1895, and he died in poverty a few years after his release. Today, his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and his play, The Importance of Being Earnest, are recognized as masterpieces of English literature.