Description Share Post Oscar Wilde’s Stories for Children illustrated by Lauren O’Hara, foreword by Colm Tóibín (Little Island Books) Colm Toíbín considers that Oscar Wilde had little truck with popular literature. Thereafter although fairy tales were not de rigeur at the time he came to write his Stories for Children, he persisted. What’s more, his elder son, Vyvyan, recalls his father being ‘a real companion’. Thereafter, he created ‘tales of adventure‘ for his sons, in fact a ‘never-ending supply’. Bookwagon is overjoyed to welcome aboard Lauren O’Hara’s illustrated versions of these tales. We admire her radiant works, including At Home in a Book. Thereafter, we step into classic tales, from the great writer, beginning with The Selfish Giant and continuing through The Happy Prince, possibly the best known story from this writer. There are considerations of morality and society within each story. For example, what of the Water-Rat’s contemplations of the Linnet’s story, The Devoted Friend? Is telling a story with a moral a very dangerous thing to do? Then again, what of love versus logic? Could it be, as the Student supposes, in The Nightingale and the Rose that love’s unpracticality makes it a poor comparison to Philosophy and Metaphysics? Furthermore, what of societal roles and behaviour, demonstrated through The Remarkable Rocket? These are stories of depth, thought and feeling. In fact, Bookwagon would go so far as to suggest that they merit reading by contemporary audiences. Thereafter, this edition is highly recommended. Not only are the stories quite superb, but the presentation is relevant, sympathetic and beautiful.
