First published 2015
Jack Worthing lives a double life, inventing a fictional brother named Ernest to escape his country responsibilities for London pleasures. His friend Algernon Moncrieff plays similar games, creating an imaginary invalid called Bunbury. Both men court young women who insist they can only love someone named Ernest. When Jack's ward Gwendolen and Algernon's cousin Cecily meet, the web of deceptions threatens to unravel completely. Jack desperately seeks to discover his true parentage while maintaining his false identity. The young couples navigate misunderstandings about names, identities, and engagements. Lady Bracknell, Gwendolen's formidable mother, adds obstacles with her rigid social expectations. The comedy builds as the men scramble to become Ernest in name and nature. This edition presents both Wilde's original four-act version and the final three-act play that reached the stage. Commentary from Bernard Shaw, Max Beerbohm, and other critics accompanies the text. Letters from Wilde provide insight into his creative process. The story celebrates the triumph of love over social convention while skewering Victorian pretensions.
Genres: fiction, drama, 20th-century, comedy, 19th-century
Vibes: thought-provoking, whimsical
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, mistaken-identity
Setting: London
Period: Victorian Era
92 pages · Kindle Edition · St. Martin's Press