I've never read this collection before and that saddens me, it is an utterly riveting and perfectly charming collection which is just completed by the wonderful hand drawn illustrations that come with it. The writing was beautiful too

The Complete Fairy Stories of Oscar Wilde comprises two books: The Happy Prince and Other Stories (first published 1888 – five stories) and A House of Pomegranates (1891 – four stories). The book also has an afterword by Wilde’s son, Vyvyan Holland, who was 75 when he wrote it in 1961.

As Holland says, these stories are really poems in prose. They are highly evocative of the late nineteenth century intense insistence upon colour, scent, sounds and emotion. Holland describes them as children’s tales rather than fairy stories and remembers his father telling the stories to Vyvyan and his elder brother, Cyril. On one level, they are indeed children’s stories – but they would probably bemuse modern children with their lavish sensual passages. They work far better as almost surreal stories for adults who are more interested in the quality and sensuality of the writing rather than plot or characterisation.

There are a few Wildean aphorisms, e.g. the remarkable Rocket stating, “A person of my position is never useful”, but not enough to buy the book for. There are also typical enigmatic statements such as “When I saw that [the house had vanished], I knew who the woman was, and wherefore she had smiled at me.”

The illustrations are by Philippe Jullian (1919-1977) rather than the original ones by Walter Crane and others. I’m afraid they left me cold. Wikipedia states “Jullian's book illustrations are witty, ornate, and often grotesque.” I’m afraid I didn’t find them any of those things. I felt they looked like a bunch of hasty scribbles.

Overall, I’m afraid this isn’t a book I can recommend – sorry.
#TheCompleteFairyStoriesofOscarWilde #NetGalley

This is a reprint of a 1952 children’s book with Oscar Wilde’s tales, lovely illustrations by Philippe Julian and an afterword by one of WIlde’s sons. It’s a beautiful collection, perfect for fans of the author.

I remember some of these tales as a child, but re-reading them now - well, it’s disappointing to realize that the stories I enjoyed then really haven’t aged well - the author wrote with the mindset of many of his time - and given the mention of slavery, death in some of the stories, and suffering in others, I wouldn’t recommend this as a family read-aloud. Also, please know that Wilde’s writing here isn’t secular; most stories contain religious tones in parts.

A charming collection of Wilde's fairy tales illustrated with lovely pen &. ink drawings. The stories are classic, often very humorous, and written in beautiful, lyric prose. A short appreciation of the stories by Wilde's son completes the book.

Funnily enough I grew up watching cartoons based on a couple of these stories at my granny's and had no idea they were based on stories by Oscar Wilde. That was a nice walk through memory lane.

Each story has religious undertones and focuses on the importance of kindness and caring for others.

These are lovely fairly tales even now.

DNF @ 44%

really thought i will like these stories. if not all, at least a few of them but boy was i wrong 😭
i know these are for children and i shouldn’t judge them as an adult but i can tell you none of the stories i managed to read has good morals. ugh!

thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the copy.

I have always loved Oscar Wilde. He's funny, witty and insighttful. Love the pics and love the stories. They are great fun to read.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

I really like the content of the book! The humour and refined writing style of Oscar Wilde are simply brilliant. You can smile almost continuously, write down the quotes and think about it.
(Thanks to Net Galley for this Book).

The commentator points out that these stories were inspired by the fact that Wilde was Irish, he came from Connemara. They are beautiful and poetic, and I feel privileged to get a copy from NetGalley and the publishers . I will say that I cannot recommend this book too highly.