penguin popular classics jack has a very useful fictional wicked brother called ernest, as well as a very mis- chievous real friend called algernon. when algernon arrives at jack's.country house claiming to be ernest, only a black handbag and an ageing governess can provide the solution to the ensuing hullabaloo. penguin popular classics are the perfect introduction to the world-famous penguin classics series - which encompasses the best books ever written, from homer's odyssey to orwelrs 1984 and everything in between. for a full list and ideas on what to read next, visit www.penguinclassics.com 作者简介： oscar wilde (1854-1900). playwright, poet, essayist, and wit, he is now as famous for his flamboyant lifestyle and epigrams as for his plays, poems and fiction. oscar fingal o'flahertie wills wilde was born in 1854 in dublin. his father was the eminent surgeon sir william wilde and his mother a literary hostess who was also known as a writer under her pen name 'speranza'. study- ing classics first at trinity college in dublin before going on to magdalen college, oxford, wilde proved to be a brilliant scholar, winning the newdigate prize for his poem 'ravenna'. while at oxford his flamboyant appearance and conspicuous espousal of aestheticism - art for art's sake - attracted great attention, much of it hostile. with his talent, wit, charm and instinct for publicity, wilde soon became a familiar name in the literary world, as much for his conversational skills as for his writing. his first collection, poems, was published in 1881 shortly before he embarked on a one-year lecture tour of north america. arriving in new york, wilde is recorded as saying, 'i have nothing to declare but my genius' - one of the many epigrams attributed to him. after his marriage to constance lloyd in 1884 he published several books of stories for children, originally written for his own sons. lordarthur savile's crime appeared shortly before his only novel, the picture of dorian gray (1891). after 189o wilde had increasing success on stage with his shrewd and sparkling comedies, lady windermere's fan (1892), a woman of no importance (1893), an ideal husband (1895) and his masterpiece, the importance of being earnest (1895). wilde's play, salome, written in french, was refused a licence in london but was performed in paris in 1896 and later adapted as an opera by richard strauss. translated by wilde's close friend lord alfred douglas ('bosie'), it appeared for publication in england withillustrations by aubrey beardsley. douglas's father, the marquess of queensberry, strongly disapproved of his son's friendship with the notorious playwright, and after he publicly insulted wilde a quarrel ensued which eventually led to wilde's imprisonment in i895 for homosexual offences. he was sentenced to two vears' imprisonment with hard labour, which left him on his release in 1897 bankrupt and weakened. relying on the generosity of friends, he went to live in france, adopting the name of sebastian melmoth. while here he wrote his famous poem, the ballad of reading gaol. wilde died in exile in france in 1900. letters he had written to lord alfred while in prison were published in 1905 under the title de profundis. of the importance of being earnest, his most famous play, wilde wrote 'it is exquisitely trivial, a delicate bubble of fancy, and it has its philosophy.., that we should treat all the trivial things of life seriously, and all the serious things of life with sincere and studied triviality.' readers may also find the following books of interest: neil bartlett, who was that man? (1992); k. beckson (ed.), wilde: the critical heritage (1970); richard ellmann, oscar wilde (1987); h. montgomery hyde, oscar wilde: a biography (1976); r. shewan, oscar wilde: art and egotism (1977); and p. raby, oscar wilde (1988).