From Dublin, Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde defined Best Oscar Wilde Books for modern readers. He was born in Ireland, educated at Trinity College Dublin and Magdalen College, Oxford, and made his career in London. He wrote across forms: plays, stories, a novel, poems, and criticism. He is widely known for sharp society comedies and his single novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray. Famous stage works include The Importance of Being Earnest and An Ideal Husband. His main career spanned the 1880s to mid‑1890s before the 1895 trials and imprisonment. Dates and bibliographic notes follow standard reference sources. A compact overview sits at Encyclopaedia Britannica.
His breakout in prose was Dorian Gray, and the stage hits made his name beyond London. Recurring motifs include masks and identity, bargains and secrecy, social performance, and the price of beauty. Readers still care because the plots remain crisp and adaptable. This ranked guide includes 21 titles across tragedies, comedies, novellas, and fairy tales. The order is a ratings‑led climb from deep cuts to consensus classics. Here you can move from early experiments to established high points without guesswork. That is the promise of the Best Oscar Wilde Books presented below.
21 Best Oscar Wilde Books in a Rising Rating Order
Methodology & Updates
Sources: Goodreads work pages and author lists captured on October 19, 2025; ties settled by earlier publication year, then A–Z title; occasional re‑ratings may adjust positions over time. This approach keeps the Best Oscar Wilde Books comparable for general readers.
#1) Vera; or, The Nihilists – 1880
- Author: Oscar Wilde
- Published: 1880
- Work Type / Genre Tags: play, political melodrama, tragedy
- Themes: revolution, loyalty, conspiracy
- Goodreads Rating: 3.51/5
In Tsarist Russia, secret societies meet in guarded rooms across St. Petersburg. A young noblewoman becomes entangled with a nihilist plot that targets imperial power. Her immediate dilemma is choosing between love and an oath to the movement. Friends, handlers, and informers shape the flow of plans and doubts. Midway, a timetable tightens and conflicting loyalties force risky maneuvers. The stakes rise as the mission’s human costs become undeniable. The action heads toward a confrontation where sacrifice overshadows escape. The ending leaves a reckoning that outlives the plotters.
#2) The Duchess of Padua – 1883
- Author: Oscar Wilde
- Published: 1883
- Work Type / Genre Tags: play, verse tragedy, romance
- Themes: vengeance, love, power
- Goodreads Rating: 3.51/5
In Renaissance Padua, a wronged stranger arrives seeking justice. A noblewoman drawn to him balances duty with feeling. His aim is retribution for a past crime, while hers is to protect her house. Confidences, betrayals, and court whispers drive their decisions. Midway, plots within plots create reversals in allegiance. Each discovery increases the cost of truth and loyalty. The trajectory points toward a tragic accounting rather than mercy. The final act seals honor above survival.
#3) The Remarkable Rocket – 1888
- Author: Oscar Wilde
- Published: 1888
- Work Type / Genre Tags: short story, fable, satire
- Themes: vanity, pride, delusion
- Goodreads Rating: 3.54/5
At a royal wedding, fireworks wait in a box while a boastful rocket talks. A celebration becomes the backdrop for petty quarrels among pyrotechnics. The rocket’s goal is a glorious ascent that proves its greatness. Other fireworks and attendants provide friction and disbelief. Midway, mishaps and timing twists complicate the launch. Hopes swell as the moment nears, with misunderstandings multiplying. The climax approaches with an unexpected course. The last image places the rocket far from applause.
#4) The Portrait of Mr. W. H. – 1889
- Author: Oscar Wilde
- Published: 1889
- Work Type / Genre Tags: novella, literary mystery, investigation
- Themes: authorship, obsession, friendship
- Goodreads Rating: 3.58/5
In London studies and parlors, friends debate a theory about Shakespeare’s Sonnets. A portrait sparks a search for the dedicatee behind the poems. The narrator’s aim is to test evidence without surrendering to wishful thinking. Letters, anecdotes, and scholarly trails structure the inquiry. Midway, the case turns personal and the cost becomes moral as well as intellectual. Revelations and recantations redirect the investigation. The path points toward a decisive act that could confirm or undo the theory. The consequence fixes belief and loss in equal measure.
#5) The Birthday of the Infanta – 1891
- Author: Oscar Wilde
- Published: 1891
- Work Type / Genre Tags: short story, fairy tale, court life
- Themes: beauty, cruelty, spectacle
- Goodreads Rating: 3.59/5
In a Spanish palace, a princess celebrates with performances and gifts. A dwarf from the countryside is brought to dance for amusement. He longs for favor and reads the court’s glitter as welcome. Courtiers and servants enable the spectacle while revealing little compassion. Midway, a private discovery changes the dancer’s understanding of himself. The mood hardens as mirrors and laughter carry a truth. The day moves toward an emotional summit. The story ends with damage no pageant can mend.
#6) The Model Millionaire – 1887
- Author: Oscar Wilde
- Published: 1887
- Work Type / Genre Tags: short story, urban tale, twist ending
- Themes: generosity, appearances, fortune
- Goodreads Rating: 3.63/5
In London, a likable but poor young man visits a painter friend’s studio. He meets a ragged model and acts on impulse with a small gift. His aim is love and marriage, blocked by money. Friends and chance encounters carry the action into drawing rooms and doorways. Midway, identities prove more fluid than they seemed. Wedding hopes hinge on unlikely benefactors as risks grow. The arc bends toward a surprise that solves a practical problem. The last turn leaves fortunes rearranged.
#7) The Young King – 1891
- Author: Oscar Wilde
- Published: 1891
- Work Type / Genre Tags: short story, fairy tale, moral vision
- Themes: wealth, conscience, rule
- Goodreads Rating: 3.69/5
On the eve of a coronation, a shepherd‑born heir enters a glittering palace. Dreams and visits reveal hidden costs of robes, jewels, and crowns. His dilemma is reconciling splendor with justice. Advisors and artisans pull between tradition and reform. Midway, visions show laborers and divers paying for royal luxury. Stakes rise as dawn nears and ceremonies cannot wait. The narrative points toward a public act that declares a new standard. Its consequence changes the meaning of rule before the court.
#8) Salomé – 1893
- Author: Oscar Wilde
- Published: 1893
- Work Type / Genre Tags: play, tragedy, biblical retelling
- Themes: desire, power, prophecy
- Goodreads Rating: 3.71/5
At Herod’s court, a princess becomes fascinated with a captive prophet. A rejected advance hardens into a fatal fixation. Her aim is to claim a prize that matches her will. Courtiers, guards, and Jokanaan’s warnings sharpen the pressure. Midway, the famous dance becomes a lever for a promise. The stakes escalate when the princess names her price. The story drives toward an execution demanded in public. The last image fixes the cost of desire against power’s limits.
Early Currents in the Best Oscar Wilde Books
#9) The Star-Child – 1891
- Author: Oscar Wilde
- Published: 1891
- Work Type / Genre Tags: short story, fairy tale, quest
- Themes: cruelty, transformation, redemption
- Goodreads Rating: 3.75/5
In a winter forest, woodcutters find a radiant child wrapped in strange finery. Years later, the boy grows proud and quick to scorn kindness. His dilemma arrives when a beggar woman challenges his image of himself. Companions, villagers, and strangers mark each stage of his fall and search. Midway, hard trials and disguises turn the journey inward and outward. Each discovery raises the cost of regaining a right place. The course angles toward a final test rather than instant reward. Recognition comes only through the path he resisted.
#10) Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime – 1887
- Author: Oscar Wilde
- Published: 1887
- Work Type / Genre Tags: novella, dark comedy, London society
- Themes: fate, duty, marriage
- Goodreads Rating: 3.77/5
At a Mayfair party, a chiromantist foretells a gentleman’s destiny to murder. The bridegroom delays his wedding to settle the prediction. His goal becomes committing the foretold act to clear his conscience. Aunts, acquaintances, and servants create opportunities and obstacles. Midway, attempts misfire and plans grow elaborate. The stakes rise as engagement and reputation come under strain. The arc tilts toward an unexpected accounting of the prophecy. The outcome restores a path to marriage with an ironic cost.
Later-Middle Turns in the Best Oscar Wilde Books
#11) The Fisherman and His Soul – 1891
- Author: Oscar Wilde
- Published: 1891
- Work Type / Genre Tags: short story, fairy tale, voyage
- Themes: love, separation, temptation
- Goodreads Rating: 3.77/5
On a rocky coast, a fisherman falls in love with a sea‑maiden. A condition of union forces him to sever himself from his soul. His immediate aim is a life beneath the waves free of restraint. Merchants, priests, and travelers cross his path as the wandering soul returns yearly. Midway, the soul recounts journeys that tempt him back to land. Each visit raises the risk of losing the sea‑bound love. The plot moves toward a reunion shadowed by peril. The last image shows what love can purchase and what it cannot keep.
#12) The Devoted Friend – 1888
- Author: Oscar Wilde
- Published: 1888
- Work Type / Genre Tags: short story, parable, satire
- Themes: exploitation, hypocrisy, friendship
- Goodreads Rating: 3.80/5
In a village, a miller praises friendship while taking advantage of a poor gardener. The gardener wants simple fairness and a chance to prosper. His immediate aim is to keep promises that always cost him more. Neighbors, seasons, and errands structure their exchanges. Midway, a string of requests hardens into harm. The stakes grow as weather and work leave the gardener exposed. The narrative heads toward a moment when definitions of “friend” collapse. The ending leaves the lesson outside the miller’s control.
#13) The Canterville Ghost – 1887
- Author: Oscar Wilde
- Published: 1887
- Work Type / Genre Tags: novella, comedy, haunted house
- Themes: haunting, mischief, forgiveness
- Goodreads Rating: 3.83/5
An American family moves into an English manor despite warnings. A resident ghost attempts scares that meet practical jokes and indifference. The spirit’s objective shifts from terror to negotiation. Children, servants, and visitors complicate every gambit. Midway, a compassionate ally suggests a different end to the haunting. Stakes rise as a hidden chamber and an old crime surface. The plot steers toward release rather than defeat. Peace arrives in a form the ghost scarcely expected.
#14) A Woman of No Importance – 1893
- Author: Oscar Wilde
- Published: 1893
- Work Type / Genre Tags: play, society drama, scandal
- Themes: reputation, gender, secrecy
- Goodreads Rating: 3.87/5
In a country house, witty guests trade barbs as a past liaison returns. A young man’s ambition intersects with a host’s old secret. The central dilemma pits social acceptance against private duty. Mothers, suitors, and patrons frame the path of revelation. Midway, confidences force a choice between exposure and silence. Careers and marriages hang in the balance as pressure mounts. The action points toward a public stance that breaks party talk. The ending fixes the costs of necessary truth.
#15) Lady Windermere’s Fan – 1892
- Author: Oscar Wilde
- Published: 1892
- Work Type / Genre Tags: play, comedy of manners, intrigue
- Themes: rumor, misunderstanding, reconciliation
- Goodreads Rating: 3.92/5
London drawing rooms hum as a wife suspects her husband’s fidelity. A mysterious woman’s appearances fuel gossip and doubt. The heroine’s aim becomes defending her marriage through decisive action. Friends and dandies supply advice that sharpens the situation. Midway, a late‑night visit sets up a perilous mistake. Stakes climb as a fan, a room, and a witness threaten exposure. The story moves toward a gesture that keeps a secret while saving a reputation. The conclusion leaves a household changed but intact.
#16) An Ideal Husband – 1895
- Author: Oscar Wilde
- Published: 1895
- Work Type / Genre Tags: play, political comedy, blackmail
- Themes: ambition, marriage, mercy
- Goodreads Rating: 4.01/5
In Westminster salons, a statesman faces the return of a youthful mistake. A visitor arrives with evidence and a price. The couple’s aim is to protect both public honor and private love. A sister, a friend, and a tempter argue different paths. Midway, schemes to buy silence collide with schemes to expose hypocrisy. Pride risks destroying forgiveness as pressure mounts. The plot points to a compromise tested by scandal sheets and codes. Futures are preserved while acknowledging the fault line beneath them.
Momentum Builds in the Best Oscar Wilde Books
#17) The Selfish Giant – 1888
- Author: Oscar Wilde
- Published: 1888
- Work Type / Genre Tags: short story, parable, children’s tale
- Themes: exclusion, compassion, renewal
- Goodreads Rating: 4.08/5
In a great garden, a giant bars children from playing. Winter lingers where joy has been refused. The giant’s aim is to keep his space untouched. Birds, blossoms, and a small visitor change the standoff. Midway, a single act of kindness opens the locked ground. Seasons begin to answer the giant’s heart as risks fall away. The arc tends toward a reunion that reorders belonging. The final scene leaves the garden in a different light.
#18) The Picture of Dorian Gray – 1890
- Author: Oscar Wilde
- Published: 1890
- Work Type / Genre Tags: novel, gothic, Faustian bargain
- Themes: beauty, corruption, conscience
- Goodreads Rating: 4.13/5
In fin‑de‑siècle London, a portrait preserves a young man’s outward perfection. A wish made in an artist’s studio redirects a life. Dorian’s aim becomes to keep pleasure without consequence. Friends, admirers, and tempters orbit his freedom. Midway, a love story collapses and the painting darkens with each act. Evidence must be hidden and witnesses avoided as risks expand. The course points toward a desperate attempt to separate self from sin. The last stroke brings the ledger to zero.
#19) The Importance of Being Earnest – 1895
- Author: Oscar Wilde
- Published: 1895
- Work Type / Genre Tags: play, farce, mistaken identity
- Themes: names, social masks, marriage
- Goodreads Rating: 4.17/5
Between Mayfair and the countryside, two friends maintain double lives. Romantic plans hinge on the right name at the right time. The heroes aim to win their fiancées while keeping aliases intact. A formidable aunt, a governess, and a found handbag create friction. Midway, revelations threaten engagements and etiquette together. Stakes rise as baptisms and backstories collide. Momentum heads toward a disclosure that resets identities. The final tableau ties vows to the name that started the trouble.
#20) The Happy Prince – 1888
- Author: Oscar Wilde
- Published: 1888
- Work Type / Genre Tags: short story, fairy tale, allegory
- Themes: charity, sacrifice, community
- Goodreads Rating: 4.19/5
Above a city, a gilded statue sees suffering it ignored in life. A swallow pauses under the statue and hears requests. The statue’s aim becomes easing hardship, jewel by jewel. Poor families, writers, and match‑girls receive help in secret. Midway, seasons change and the swallow’s strength wanes. The stakes grow as the last adornments are given away. The story moves toward a winter decision that seals both fates. What remains is carried to a different kind of city.
#21) The Nightingale and the Rose – 1888
- Author: Oscar Wilde
- Published: 1888
- Work Type / Genre Tags: short story, fairy tale, sacrifice
- Themes: love, idealism, cost
- Goodreads Rating: 4.28/5
In a garden near a student’s room, a nightingale hears a complaint about a dance. The student cannot secure a red rose and fears losing a chance. His aim is simple: obtain the flower and win the partner. Trees, lizards, and other creatures frame the bargain to follow. Midway, a rose‑tree names a terrible method for the bloom. The stakes rise as midnight singing meets thorn and blood. The plot gathers toward dawn and a doorstep delivery. The consequence sets love’s ideal against the world’s reply.
Oscar Wilde: Life & Legacy
Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) was born in Dublin, studied at Trinity College Dublin and Magdalen College, Oxford, and built a London career as lecturer, journalist, storywriter, and dramatist. He wrote children’s tales, one novel, poems, and four major comedies—Lady Windermere’s Fan, A Woman of No Importance, An Ideal Husband, and The Importance of Being Earnest. Signature works also include The Picture of Dorian Gray, “The Happy Prince,” “The Selfish Giant,” and “The Canterville Ghost.” His ideas around aestheticism and performance shaped modern drama and classroom reading worldwide. Public scandal and imprisonment in 1895 ended his London period, yet his plots kept returning to the stage. Editions, biographies, and archives sustained his presence through the twentieth century. Later writers on both sides of the Atlantic cite his structures of disguise, revelation, and social game as models. The arc traced here by the Best Oscar Wilde Books reflects that continuing influence.
Conclusion
Twenty‑one titles are included, from early tragedies to drawing‑room comedies and beloved fairy tales, forming a through‑line from apprenticeship to established mastery. For a concise, reliable backgrounder on the author’s life and impact, see Britannica’s overview of Oscar Wilde.
Masks, names, bargains, tests of mercy, and the reset of households recur across the list, showing range within a compact career window. For cultural context on controversy and reception, read Smithsonian Magazine’s feature on Salomé: why the play was banned for decades. This snapshot of the Best Oscar Wilde Books shows how recurring structures carry themes across forms.
FAQ: What to know about the Best Oscar Wilde Books
Q1: Which work tops reader ratings here?
Q2: Why focus on plots rather than essays or letters?
Q3: Where should newcomers begin?
Q4: How were ties decided?
Q5: Will the rankings change over time?
