Beautiful and Impossible Things: Selected Essays of Oscar Wilde

This selection of Oscar Wilde’s writings provides a fresh perspective on his character and thinking. Compiled from his lecture tours, newspaper articles, essays and epigrams, these pieces show that beneath the trademark wit, Wilde was a deeply humane and visionary writer, as challenging today as he was in the late 1800s. This edition includes essays on interior design, prison reform, Shakespeare, the dramatic dialogue Decay of Lying and the seminal Soul of Man."First, it is an elegant linen-bound production that gives it a handsome feel in the hand, but then fits neatly into a pocket like something one should never travel without on the train. Moreover, it is purple—one of Wilde’s statement colors—which as a cover for Wilde’s sparkling prose renders it heliotrope with diamonds...it is a book that should always be with us when there are no flowers to look at and we want something to stir the intelligence." —John Cooper, Oscar Wilde in America (blog)

“The release of this lovely volume from Notting Hill Editions is a timely reminder that Oscar Wilde was more than just a wit, spouting aphorisms and ending up the subject of scandal and imprisonment.” —Shiny New BooksOscar Wilde (1854–1900) was born in Dublin and is remembered for a diverse literary output that included his novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray; stories for children; poetry; plays, including The Importance of Being Earnest; and a wide-ranging selection of essays and other prose works. Despite being highly celebrated in literary and social circles, he was tried for gross indecency and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment. He died in penury in Paris.

Gyles Brandreth is a writer, broadcaster, actor, former MP, and Government Whip, best known as a reporter on The One Show on BBC 1 and a regular on Radio 4’s Just a Minute. He recently played Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest. His many books include political diaries and a series of detective stories, The Oscar Wilde Mysteries, now published in twenty-two countries.