The soul of man, and prison writings - Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde is best known for his extravagantly witty plays and epigrams, but he was also a serious writer about literature and social principles.;In "The Soul of Man" he wrote a kind of manifesto, preached an idea of Individualism, and defended the individual against the claims of society, whether of custom, of conformity, or of convention.;After the drama of the successful playwright's trials for homosexual acts, he was imprisoned with hard labour for two years, under harsh regulations and in unrelieved solitary confinement.;"De Profundis", the long letter he composed in Reading Gaol, is a unique human document and attempt at self-analysis and autobiography. It is published here with Wilde's two long letters on prison injustices, sent to the "Daily Chronicle" after serving his sentence. The execution of a fellow prisoner for murder inspired the one work he accomplished on his release, "The Ballad of Reading Gaol".;This volume presents the less familiar, serious Wilde, before and after his fall.