Oscar Wilde and the Theatre of the 1890s

Kerry Powell examines Wilde’s plays in relation to popular theatre of the 1890s, both in England and on the Continent. Along with revealing insights into the sexual and moral politics of the era, Powell provides an indispensable basis for understanding Wilde’s achievement as a playwright. At his best, Wilde reconstitutes the dramatic fashions of the era, and partly as a result his plays have prevailed over the works, many now forgotten, that they simultaneously imitate and undermine. Through his analysis, Powell looks at the plays of, among others, Arthur Shirley, Lady Violet Greville, Sydney Grundy and W. Lestocq as well as the impact of Ibsen on Wilde. The book contains production photographs from plays by Wilde and by little-known playwrights and an appendix of biographies. Oscar Wilde and the Theatre of the 1890s will be of interest to students and specialists of drama, theatre history and English literature.