Oscar Wilde’s masterpiece of comic theatre, first performed in 1895, is a relentless assault of wit and paradox. Two young men maintain fictional alter egos — both conveniently named Ernest — in order to escape social obligations, until the deceptions spiral into gloriously absurd confusion involving handbags, cucumber sandwiches, and the formidable Lady Bracknell.
Subtitled ‘A Trivial Comedy for Serious People’, the play skewers Victorian hypocrisy with a lightness that disguises its sharp social critique. This free EPUB lets you savour every epigram on your preferred e-reader.