Lord Arthur Savile's Crime & Other Stories

By: Oscar Wilde

Narrated by: Derek Jacobi

"Lord Arthur Savile's Crime" is a masterpiece of polished cynicism in which poison, explosive clocks, and finally murder forerun married bliss. Also included are: "The Canterville Ghost", "The Model Millionaire", "The Young King", "The Fisherman and His Soul", "The Happy Prince", "The Devoted Friend", and "The Portrait of Mr. W. H." These eight stories were produced in the heyday of Wilde's career.

Public Domain (P)2012 AudioGo

good title story, but fairy tales are just OK

There are 2 styles of Oscar Wilde stories here - the satirical scenes of British society that most people know from his famous plays, and fairy tales that were purportedly written for children. The children's fairy tales seem more heavily moralized that the fairy tales written by Hans Christian Anderson or Grimm, but that might just be my memory because these are fresher in my mind. In fact, both types of stories carry the same types of satirical messages of society, but one is dressed up in fantasy characters.

I remain a huge Wilde fan, but his fairy tales are not among my favourite of his works.