First performed in 1893, A Woman of No Importance is the most socially pointed of Wilde’s comedies. Lord Illingworth — charming, cynical, and wholly amoral — is revealed to have abandoned a woman and their son decades earlier. The clash between his aristocratic ease and the moral seriousness of the women who confront him gives the play an edge missing from Wilde’s lighter work.
Beneath the glittering surface dialogue, this is a play about power, gender, and society’s double standards. Download the free EPUB to read it on any device.