Oscar Wilde 
An Ideal Husband – Oscar Wilde 

An Ideal Husband is a four-act play by Oscar Wilde that revolves around blackmail and political corruption, and touches on the themes of public and private honour. It was first produced at the Haymarket Theatre, London in 1895 and ran for 124 performances. It has been revived in many theatre productions and adapted for the cinema, radio and television.

About the author

Author Oscar Wilde was known for his acclaimed works including ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ and ‘The Importance of Being Earnest, ‘ as well as his brilliant wit, flamboyant style and infamous imprisonment for homosexuality.

Who Was Oscar Wilde?

Author, playwright and poet Oscar Wilde was a popular literary figure in late Victorian England. After graduating from Oxford University, he lectured as a poet, art critic and a leading proponent of the principles of aestheticism. In 1891, he published The Picture of Dorian Gray, his only novel which was panned as immoral by Victorian critics, but is now considered one of his most notable works. As a dramatist, many of Wilde’s plays were well received including his satirical comedies Lady Windermere’s Fan (1892), A Woman of No Importance (1893), An Ideal Husband (1895) and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895), his most famous play. Unconventional in his writing and life, Wilde’s affair with a young man led to his arrest on charges of ‘gross indecency’ in 1895. He was imprisoned for two years and died in poverty three years after his release at the age of 46.