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By (author) Leach Maria

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Celebrate the virtuoso of well-turned phrases and the master of the studied insult with this collection of his most acerbic quips.

A celebration of the virtuoso of well-turned phrases and the master of the studied insult with this collection of his most acerbic quips.

No playwright apart from Shakespeare is as widely quoted and Oscar Wilde’s needlesharp rejoinders are often repeated with delight. However, his jibes were rarely cruel, and displayed a profound understanding of the human character and its vanities.

Includes such notable quotes as:

– ‘Work is the curse of the drinking classes.’

– ‘All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That’s his.’
The Importance of Being Earnest

– ‘We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.’
Lady Windermere’s Fan

With a timeline of his life and quotations divided by themes, this book demonstrates why, more than a hundred years after his death, people are still drawn to Wilde’s dazzling repartee and the wicked brilliance of his social observations.

Review quote
An elegant collection of Wilde”s finest witticisms … features hundreds of acerbic and razor-sharp quotations from the iconic writer, gathered according to themes.

Review quote
Marvel at Wilde”s finest witticisms, aphorisms, paradoxes and ironic remarks in this accessible and elegantly organized collection.

Biographical note
Maria Leach has compiled and edited books on a wide range of subjects, including The Wicked Wit of Insults for Michael O”Mara Books.

Promotional headline

A humorous and highly
quotable
collection of Oscar Wilde’s
most acerbic quips.