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    A Woman of No Importance
    A Woman of No Importance
    A Woman of No Importance
    Audiobook1 hour

    A Woman of No Importance

    Written by Oscar Wilde

    Narrated by Martin Jarvis, Peter Dennis, Jim Norton and

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    Devilishly attractive Lord Illingworth is notorious for his skill as a seducer. But he is still invited to all the “best” houses while his female conquests must hide their shame in seclusion. In this devastating comedy, Wilde uses his celebrated wit to expose English society’s narrow view of everything from sexual mores to Americans. Adapted by Martin Jarvis.

    An L.A. Theatre Works full cast performance featuring:

    Martin Jarvis as Lord Illingworth
    Peter Dennis as Sir John Pontefract
    Jim Norton as Mr. Kelvil, M.P.
    Robert Machray as The Venerable Archdeacon Daubeny, D.D.
    Paul Gutrecht as Gerald Arbuthnot
    Miriam Margolyes as Lady Hunstanton
    Jane Carr as Lady Caroline Pontefract
    Judy Geeson as Lady Stutfield
    Cherie Lunghi as Mrs. Allonby and Alice
    Samantha Mathis as Miss Hester Worsley
    Rosalind Ayres as Mrs. Arbuthnot

    Includes an interview with Oscar Wilde’s only grandchild, Merlin Holland, who is also a noted biographer and editor of Wilde’s works.

    Directed by Michael Hackett. Recorded before a live audience at the DoubleTree Suites, Santa Monica in November of 1995.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherL.A. Theatre Works
    Release dateJan 1, 2001
    ISBN9781580815307
    Author

    Oscar Wilde

    Oscar Fingal O'Flaherty Wills Wilde was born in Dublin in 1854. He studied at Trinity College Dublin and then at Magdalen College Oxford where he started the cult of 'Aestheticism', which involves making an art of life. Following his marriage to Constance Lloyd in 1884, he published several books of stories ostensibly for children and one novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891). Wilde's first success as a playwright was with Lady Windemere's Fan in 1892. He followed this up with A Woman of No Importance, An Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Earnest, all performed on the London stage between 1892 and 1895. However Wilde's homosexual relationship with Lord Alfred Douglas was exposed by the young man's father, the Marquis of Queensbury. Wilde brought a libel suit against Queensbury but lost and was sentenced to two year's imprisonment. He was released in 1897 and fled to France where he died a broken man in 1900.

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    Reviews for A Woman of No Importance

    4.5/5

    45 ratings6 reviews

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    • 5/5
      A small gem of a drama. Oscar Wilde's perfect t use of language makes this play both witty and stinging. A mother maintains her dignity in the face of disgrace, and endears herself to her son while deflating his natural father's haughty condescension. Excellent!
    • 4/5
      Witty as only Oscar Wilde can write.
    • 3/5
      The book is all about purity. What somebody thinks about the same.
    • 3/5
      The title says it all. A condemnation of a society in which mistakes are never forgiven, in which souls are lost forever, for youthful indiscretion and surrender to one's emotions.
    • 5/5
      4.5 stars

      It was absolutely fantastic, hilarious, important and intelligent.
    • 5/5
      This was a really good read by Oscar Wilde. I love how the book started with the title "A Woman of No Importance" and ended with the sentence "A Man of No Importance." While I'm not in the mood to delve into the connotative meaning of the start and end of this masterpiece, the author did an excellent job of humorously communicating societal flaws in gender perception. However, I'll leave that analysis for another time.