What’s not to love about these stories by Oscar Wilde, he was a legend, fantastic writer, I love everything I have ever read by him and these were no exception. If you love Mr Wilde or fairy stories (even better if both like me) then you will love this collection. I’m off to buy a physical copy for my shelves to love for life.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy in return for an honest opinion

"She is always flirting with the wind."

Some witty and nuanced parables from the ever talented Oscar Wilde.

Everything I've ever read by Oscar Wilde has been exceptional. His wit and lyricism sparkle. This collection is unique to his other works. The stories don't really have happily ever after endings, the lessons are layered, and none of it really seems geared toward children. It is a fast read though with a lot of beautiful writing.

A collection of short stories with morals. I especially liked the "The Happy Prince" and "The Selfish Giant". "The Remarkable Rocket" had some extra cleverness to it, which was a mark in its favor.
"The Birthday of the Infanta" was I think my least favorite of the group. "The Fisherman and His Soul" was like an odd version of "The Little Mermaid". "The Star-Child" had an excellent moral, but the ending was awful.

Wilde could go a bit overboard on the descriptions and flowery prose. He definitely had skill in that department, but it isn't always my favorite thing to read. This is especially apparent in the stories from "A House of Pomegranates" and could be part of why none of those ranked very high for me.

The illustrations is this 70th anniversary edition were few and far between and not a lot to really recommend themselves, so that wasn't a huge selling point.

Thank you net galley for providing me with an arc of the complete fairy stories of Oscar Wilde in exchange for a honest review.

Oscar Wildes writing was truly magnificent. He manages to be so descriptive and every paragraph has at least one quote I want to tattoo upon my body, so that I'd never forget it.

The one star was taken off due to my lack of interest in some stories

Truly a beautiful must read, this copy is particularly gorgeous.

A collection of vivid and imaginative stories that are a delicious blend of folklore and religious ideas very much in line with his Irish ancestry.

The Complete Fairy Stories of Oscar Wilde contain eight tales that don't actually all feature fairies, but still all feel rooted in that kind of mysticism. These are stories for children that have a solid foundation of moral ethics and often some of Wilde's trademark humorous wit. A lot of these were quite touching, like The Nightingale and the Rose in which a nightingale overhears a young man complain that his professor's daughter won't dance with him and decides to give his life for a red rose with which the man in love can impress his lady. I won't spoil the end, but it's bittersweet at best.

These really felt magical. Oscar Wilde's writing is truly lush and while his descriptions of things and places feel otherworldly, the themes of his stories are very much contemporary. The Happy Prince for example is a story about compassion and the power of selfless love and will again make your heart cry out in both joy and pain. Beware the imagery of these, while directed at children there are definitely some gruesome things happening, so we've got eyes being plucked out, children being bullied and men cutting off their souls.

If you enjoy fairy tales, these are wonderful. I really enjoyed the messages of them – Wilde certainly seemed aware of how cruel and unjust society can be, so not all stories end will, yet the reader's sympathy will always lie with the victims of the oppressors who will show strength in soul and character. It's worth being a good person in the end.

This delightfully took me back to my childhood. A lovely nostalgia trip for me. The illustrations add much to this edition. I loved it.

Such a beautiful collection of Oscar Wilde's fairy stories. The stories are charming and wonderful to read. The inclusion of the illustrations is a nice touch. What a wonderful edition of The Complete Fairy Stories of Oscar Wilde.

Beautiful and unexpected, I didn’t know Wilde had written so many fairy stories. They are equally as enthralling as his better known works.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read this book in exchange for my review.

#Netgalley

A wonderful, collection of Oscar Wilde's fairy stories to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Duckworth's collection. The illustrations by Phillipe Julliann are truly beautiful. These beloved tales are beautifully represented and remain a joy to read. As can be expected from Wilde, the tales are witty, poignant, sad at times and with a moral background. A multitude cast of characters play out throughout the tales and would appeal to all ages.
This is an excellent gift for fans of Oscar Wilde, books, fairytales and stories. I shall certainly purchase my own copy.

I absolutely love Oscar Wilde’s short stories, and this edition of them was wonderfully put together! The illustrations were beautiful and worked well with the stories, the order and organization of the stories flowed really nicely, and the end note by Wilde’s son was a really nice touch to add insight and tie them together. This was a really well executed collection and it was the perfect way to spend an afternoon!

Of all the stories I only knew two and the truth is that it was interesting to read them again now as an adult.

They all have something that makes them different, interesting, out of the ordinary. There is always this twist that you did not expect or that moment that leaves you amazed, that leaves you reflecting.

I can't say that they have all been light because they are not. But I didn't expect less from Wilde, come on. I think if it's not a bit heavy it's not Wilde. As with his other books.

I like that they are focused on children although some are very sad and strong. But I don't see it bad anyway.

At the end it comes with some explanation of the author and of each one of the stories that I found super interesting.

The illustrations sometimes seem a bit gloomy to me but I feel that they perfectly accompany each of the stories.

Very interesting stories in the best traditions of fairy tales. Many of them are a bit dark with some twist in the end.
A lot of these also seem to have some Irisk folklore, which I did not mind.

I much prefer these sort of children's stories and think they offer more to a child's mind than modern "by the power of friendship, the evil will always be defeated and the prince will always save the princess" stuff. If I am ever blessed with a husband and then children, I'd definitely read these to them.

Thank you for the advanced copy in exchange for a review.

I am a fan of Oscar Wilde and actually requested this based on it having illustrations.

A truly beautiful collection that has been put together well, I did not find the illustrations really added anything though to be honest. The afterword by Wilde’s son was a masterful touch and for me makes up for the what the illustrations lack, I will order a physical copy as it may need that for them to look their best.

A wonderful collection to own

Highly recommended

This was a wonderful collection of Oscar Wilde's fairy stories. I have never read Wilde's fairy stories before this, so this was completely new to me. I'm happy to say that I really enjoyed these stories. I am a huge fan of Wilde and I will continue to recommend his works. The hand-drawn illustrations were done so well and really added to the stories for me. These stories were written in such beautiful, lyric prose. Wilde's writing is something that works for me and I absolutely love reading his work. I really loved the afterword by Wilde’s son, Vyvyan Holland which was written in 1961. The afterword was beautifully written and I like that they added that. This isn't five stars just because I found a couple of stories to drag, but other than that I really loved this collection.

Thank you so much to the publisher for granting me an eArc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Oscar Wilde is such a timeless writer - his work will be enjoyed for many more years to come. Now, Wilde is one of my all time writers so it is no surprise that I loved reading his collection (for the third time now). The tales are such a brilliant way to teach about morals and also show such harsh criticism of the society in which it is written.

My all-time favourite will always be 'The Happy Prince', mainly because of it's telling story of compassion and what comes from it. I really do think it is one of the best stories ever to be written. For such a tortured man, Oscar Wilde did write some incredibly beautiful pieces of work.

I really do believe that everyone should read this. Even though people may believe these fairy stories are for children, I truly believe that everyone can read these at any point in their lives.

I have always been a fan of Wilde's fairy stories. They are fun and can be complicated and are very different than many of the traditional stories most people grow up with. The illustrations in this book are adorable and fitting for the stories.

i find hard to review Oscar Wilde as he's one of my favorite writer and the Fairy Stories are dear to my heart.
I think they're great stories and didn't lose any of their appeals even if are more adult than children oriented.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

I received an ARC of the book from the publisher, via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Little is actually new about this collection so I will review this book as such, since it was also my first time reading many of these stories. To read this collection as a reflection of Wilde's life is tempting but the greatest strength of these beautifully crafted stories is to me, the way it so delicately nuances many folkloric tropes in a way that so succinctly reflects how multi-cultural and interconnected London was at Wilde's point in time. As someone who had studied The Picture of Dorian Gray, it is also fun to see how he engages with the themes of art, beauty and mythology through another angle. Beyond this, there is also a sensitivity and sweetness underscoring these works that truly brings out the beauty of grappling with the loss of innocence through the fairy tale genre. Over all these stories are a must have but it is hard to tell if it is necessary to get this new, stunning 70th-anniversary gift edition through a digital e-copy when so much of its beauty is derived from the quality of the print and the production.

I have been reading these stories to my daughter at bedtime over the last couple of weeks. I had read them before and she had read some of them. We both really enjoyed them. Entertaining, charming, witty and wise. I enjoyed chatting with her about them, interested how sometimes our opinions would match and other times they wouldn't or how we both took different things from certain tales. The Happy Prince was her favourite, Devoted Friend was mine. I really enjoyed the words from Wilde's son too.
The illustrations deserve to be enjoyed on paper so I have ordered a copy to add to our bookshelves.
This would be a really lovely Christmas gift for a child or an adult.

In a Nutshell: A compilation of two of Wilde’s three published short story anthologies. Garnished with illustrations by French illustrator Phillippe Jullian, and an afterword by Wilde's son Vyvyan Holland.

Oscar Wilde is one of my favourite writers, so it goes without saying that I have read almost all of his works. He had published three anthologies in this lifetime. Of these, the stories from ‘The Happy Prince and other stories’ (1888) and ‘A House of Pomegranates’ (1891) are included in this special 70th anniversary gift edition.

As modern readers, we assume ‘fairy stories’ to be stories with fairies such as Tinker Bell or Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother. However, the traditional meaning of the term defines a fairy story as any traditional story written for children and usually involving imaginary creatures or magic. Wilde make use of his Irish heritage to imbue his stories with a strong sense of lore and an underlying foundation of religious or moral ethics. But there are no actual fairies in his tales, and if you are a newbie to his works, it is better to keep this in mind.

Some of my favourite stories by Wilde are part of the ‘The Happy Prince’ collection. So I was glad to reread ‘The Happy Prince’, ‘The Nightingale and the Rose’, ‘The Selfish Giant’, and ‘The Devoted Friend’ yet again. The fifth story of this anthology – ‘The Remarkable Rocket’ – isn’t a big favourite of mine, but it still has enough to recommend it.

‘A House of Pomegranates’, however, isn’t among my beloved Wilde works. Of the four stories therein, I count only ‘The Birthday of the Infanta’ as a good story. Two of the other three (‘The Young King’ and ‘The Fisherman and His Soul’) are decent but have too many subtracks that serve mainly to showcase Wilde’s descriptive writing. The last story, ‘The Star-Child’, is wonderful except for the ending.

All of the above are stories I have read many times over the years, but I still enjoyed my reread of them through this book. Of the nine stories in the book, four are strong favourites of mine (5 stars each), and two are good enough (3.5-4 stars.) That said, I am an attuned classics reader, so I know what to expect from Wilde’s works. Some of the content might seem dated to modern eyes, and some of the content is quite religious, which might take secular readers by surprise. I’ll just say, every classic work must be evaluated the content keeping in mind the writer’s personal beliefs and the societal standards in THAT era, and not by your 21st century perspective.

As these stories are all in the public domain, you do need to have something more in this book to recommend it. There are two things specific to this edition:
1. A critical note penned by Oscar Wilde’s son, Vyvyan Holland: This isn’t too lengthy but it offers a nice background to the stories and to Wilde’s belief system.
2. The illustrations by “celebrated twentieth-century artist and aesthete Phillippe Jullian”: I admit, the illustrations were the main reason for my requesting a collection that I had already read every single story of. But the sketches proved to be disappointing. I didn’t find any of them adding value to the story. They look more like children’s scribbles than like something sketched by a popular artist. They might have worked better with colour, or his artistic style might just be an acquired taste, but in the current form, not a single illustration was memorable to me.

Recommended to classic fiction lovers.

3.75 stars, based on the average of my ratings for all the stories.

My thanks to Duckworth Books and NetGalley for the DRC of “The Complete Fairy Stories of Oscar Wilde”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.