Оскар Уайльд – The Happy Prince and Other Stories (страница 1)
THE HAPPY PRINCE AND OTHER STORIES
Oscar Wilde
William Collins
An imprint of HarperCollins
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London, SE1 9GF
This eBook edition published by William Collins in 2015
Life & Times section © HarperCollins
Gerard Cheshire asserts his moral right as author of the Life & Times section
Classic Literature: Words and Phrases adapted from
Cover by e-Digital Design
Cover images: Stockholm evening picture. From Slussen to Riddarholm church in sunset © yes-that’s-it / iStockphoto.com. Barn swallow (Hand Coloured Engraving) © Andrew Howe / iStockphoto.com. Statue by e-Digital Design.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
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Source ISBN: 9780008110642
Ebook Edition © May 2015 ISBN: 9780008110659
Version: 2015-05-01
CONTENTS
Copyright
History of Collins
Life & Times
The Happy Prince and Other Stories
The Happy Prince
The Nightingale and The Rose
The Selfish Giant
The Devoted Friend
The Remarkable Rocket
A House of Pomegranates
The Young King
The Birthday of the Infanta
The Fisherman and His Soul
The Star-Child
Classic Literature: Words and Phrases adapted from the Collins English Dictionary
About the Publisher
In 1819, millworker William Collins from Glasgow, Scotland, set up a company for printing and publishing pamphlets, sermons, hymn books, and prayer books. That company was Collins and was to mark the birth of HarperCollins Publishers as we know it today. The long tradition of Collins dictionary publishing can be traced back to the first dictionary William published in 1824,
Soon after, William published the first Collins novel,
Aged 30, William’s son, William II, took over the business. A keen humanitarian with a warm heart and a generous spirit, William II was truly “Victorian” in his outlook. He introduced new, up-to-date steam presses and published affordable editions of Shakespeare’s works and
In the 1860s Collins began to expand and diversify and the idea of “books for the millions” was developed. Affordable editions of classical literature were published, and in 1903 Collins introduced 10 titles in their Collins Handy Illustrated Pocket Novels. These proved so popular that a few years later this had increased to an output of 50 volumes, selling nearly half a million in their year of publication. In the same year, The Everyman’s Library was also instituted, with the idea of publishing an affordable library of the most important classical works, biographies, religious and philosophical treatments, plays, poems, travel, and adventure. This series eclipsed all competition at the time, and the introduction of paperback books in the 1950s helped to open that market and marked a high point in the industry.
HarperCollins is and has always been a champion of the classics, and the current Collins Classics series follows in this tradition – publishing classical literature that is affordable and available to all. Beautifully packaged, highly collectible, and intended to be reread and enjoyed at every opportunity.
About the Author
Oscar Wilde had an erudite way with words and is often quoted to this day. He was known as a sharp wit, delivering lines that cut through conversation making him at once popular and vilified, depending on the nature of those at the receiving end. Sadly for Wilde, it was his enemies that got the better of him. At a time when it was illegal for men to have sexual relations with other men, Wilde was imprisoned and exiled for his sexual preferences.
Wilde wrote only one novel,
Wilde was born into a privileged Dublin family. He had a fairly uneventful childhood, but performed very well at university, studying at Magdalen College, Oxford. It was as a student that he began to use his high intellect to put others down, and as a result many of his peers took a dislike to him. He also began to cultivate an image for himself that could be described as outrageously camp, in both appearance and conduct. It was the behaviour of homosexuals such as Wilde that led to the word ‘gay’ earning its modern meaning, because people began using the term in describing this tendency for gaiety in demeanour. It was a euphemism that mutated over time. Needless to say, Wilde’s effeminate and showy image, although entertaining to some, was thought immoral by polite Victorian society. For every person who celebrated his outlandish posturing there was someone else who wanted him to fall from grace.
Despite Wilde’s sexual orientation he did his best to conceal it for fear of prosecution. This included his becoming betrothed and producing two sons. One of his sons sadly perished in World War I. The other became an author himself, but he concealed his identity for many years due to his father’s reputation and following his disgrace and downfall.
Wilde finally capitulated to his homosexual desires when he met a boy named Robert Ross and fell in love. He had undoubtedly known about his leanings but managed to constrain himself until Ross appeared. Wilde is known to have relished the excitement that came from the danger of his situation. He had a number of further homoerotic encounters and became involved with a group of homosexual men who were secretly campaigning for reforms in the law to decriminalize their behaviour.
Unfortunately for Wilde he had begun an affair with the son of the Marquess of Queensbury and this proved his undoing. The Marquess blamed Wilde for perverting his son’s sexuality and was determined to see Wilde prosecuted for his crimes. Ironically it was Wilde who took the Marquess to court for criminal libel, such was Wilde’s overconfidence. Things backfired though, and Wilde found himself in the dock for ‘gross indecency’. He was sentenced to two years hard labour, which he served at Pentonville, Wandsworth and Reading prisons.
After completing his sentence Wilde took a new name and fled to Europe as Sebastian Melmoth. His experience as a convict had affected his health badly and he survived for only three more years, dying at the age of 46 in Paris. Had his health been more vigorous, Wilde may well have seen a time when society forgave him for his indiscretions, for his talent as a writer was undisputed. As it was, he passed away before the dust had settled and a long time before homosexuality became decriminalized.
The Happy Prince and Other Stories
Wilde’s collection of short stories for children,
Superficially these stories are written for children, but they sparkle with wisdom and allegory that is immensely appealing to adults too. The collection is best known for its title story, ‘The Happy Prince’, which tells a tale of kindness, self-sacrifice and ultimate reward. An idealistic tale, Wilde anthropomorphizes a swallow and breathes life into a stone statue to act the parts of his central characters. Each story both captures the reader’s imagination and inspires reflection on the moral at its heart.