The Importance of Being Earnest (Masterplots, Revised Second Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Oscar Wilde
- First Published: 1899
- Type of Work: Drama
- Type of Plot: Comedy of manners
- Time of Work: Late nineteenth century
- Setting: London and Hertfordshire
- Principal Characters: Algernon Moncrieff (Algy), Lady Augusta Bracknell, Gwendolen Fairfax, Jack Worthing, Cecily Cardew, Miss Letitia Prism, The Reverend Canon Chasuble, D.D.
- Genres: Drama, Comedy, Comedy of manners
- Subjects: Love or romance, Nineteenth century, Marriage, Mistaken or secret identity, England or English people, Victorian era or Victorianism, Nobility
- Locales: London, England, Hertfordshire, England
The Story:
Algernon Moncrieff, nephew of the aristocratic Lady Bracknell, was compelled by necessity to live a more or less double life to avoid being completely at the mercy of his Aunt Augusta. To escape from her dull dinner parties, he had invented a wholly fictitious friend named Bunbury, whose precarious state of health required Algernon’s absence from London whenever his aunt summoned him to attendance.
Algernon’s friend, Jack Worthing, was forced into a similar subterfuge for quite a different reason. He had under his care a young ward named Cecily Cardew, who...
[The entire page is 1995 words long]
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