Books with title The Happy Prince and Other Tales

Oscar Wilde could be likened to a comet that passed through the world of British literature, and changed it forever. Even though his most prominent works are plays such as The Importance of Being Earnest or An Ideal Husband, Wilde rose to a level of excellence in many areas of his career, including by authoring fairy tales such as The Happy Prince and Other Tales. This book is a collection of stories written by Oscar Wilde in his characteristic witty, ingenious fashion, but this time in a much more straightforward and childlike manner than in the case of most of his works. Wilde unleashes the full power of his imaginative abilities by creating a world that exudes emotion and builds on the hopes and dreams of young people in their pursuit of love and self-fulfillment. The Happy Prince is the story of a young prince who lived a sheltered, happy life, and was immortalized as a golden statue upon his death. He then began to see more of the suffering in the city, and realized the difference between true happiness and pleasure, teaching it to a swallow whom he had formed a deep attachment to. This beautiful and emotional story expresses the depth and power of Wilde's ability to communicate the most essential and beautiful truths of life in such a simple and elegant manner than even many of his readers who go through his fairy tales today can't help but shed a tear and admire these stories with a sense of quiet amazement. The Happy Prince and Other Tales is undoubtedly one of the true gems of British literature from the end of the 19th century, their author leading us into a world that reflects our innermost desires and most basic drive toward attaining what could be known as real happiness and the purest love we can imagine.

The Happy Prince and Other Tales (sometimes called The Happy Prince and Other Stories) is a collection of stories for children by Oscar Wilde first published in May 1888. It contains five stories, "The Happy Prince", "The Nightingale and the Rose", "The Selfish Giant", "The Devoted Friend", and "The Remarkable Rocket". It is most famous for its title story, "The Happy Prince".

The Happy Prince and Other Tales (also called The Happy Prince and Other Stories) is a collection of stories for children by Oscar Wilde first published in May 1888. It contains five stories, "The Happy Prince", "The Nightingale and the Rose", "The Selfish Giant", "The Devoted Friend", and "The Remarkable Rocket". It is most famous for its title story, "The Happy Prince".This edition has been formatted for your Kindle, with an active table of contents. This book has also been annotated, with additional information about the stories and Oscar Wilde, including an overview, plot summaries of each story, adaptations of each story, commentary, themes, biographical and bibliographical information.

* Beautifully illustrated with delightful sketches from early editions, these hugely popular short stories have become global favorites since they were first published. Just as marvelous today as they were all those years ago, children and adults alike still read the magical tales with enormous pleasure.* Contents:- The Happy Prince- The Nightingale and the Rose- The Selfish Giant- The Devoted Friend - The Remarkable Rocket* This meticulous edition from Heritage Illustrated Publishing is a faithful reproduction of the original text and is enhanced with images carefully selected by our team of professional editors.

-with sixteen illustrations by Walter Crane and Jacob HoodThe Happy Prince and Other Tales is a collection of stories for children by Oscar Wilde first published in May 1888. It contains five stories, "The Happy Prince", "The Nightingale and the Rose", "The Selfish Giant", "The Devoted Friend", and "The Remarkable Rocket". It is most famous for its title story, "The Happy Prince"."The Happy Prince"In a town where a lot of poor people suffer, a swallow who was left behind after his flock flew off to Egypt for the winter meets the statue of the late "Happy Prince", who in reality has never experienced true happiness. Viewing various scenes of people suffering in poverty from his tall monument, the Happy Prince asks the swallow to take the ruby from his hilt, the sapphires from his eyes, and the golden leaf covering his body to give to the poor. As the winter comes and the Happy Prince is stripped of all of his beauty, his lead heart breaks when the swallow dies as a result of his selfless deeds. The statue is then torn down and melted leaving behind the broken heart and the dead swallow. These are taken up to heaven by an angel that has deemed them the two most precious things in the city by God, so they may live forever in his city of gold and garden of paradise."The Nightingale and the Rose"A nightingale overhears a student complaining that his professor's daughter will not dance with him, as he is unable to give her a red rose. The nightingale visits all the rose-trees in the garden, and one of the roses tells her there is a way to produce a red rose, but only if the nightingale is prepared to sing the sweetest song for the rose all night with her heart pressing into a thorn, sacrificing her life. Seeing the student in tears, and valuing his human life above her bird life, the nightingale carries out the ritual. She impales herself on the rose-tree's thorn so that her heart's blood can stain the rose. The student takes the rose to the professor's daughter, but she again rejects him because another man has sent her some real jewels and "everybody knows that jewels cost far more than flowers.""The Selfish Giant"The Selfish Giant owns a beautiful garden which has 12 peach trees and lovely fragrant flowers, in which children love to play after returning from the school. On the giant's return from seven years visiting his friend the Cornish Ogre, he takes offense at the children and builds a wall to keep them out. He put a notice board "TRESSPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED". The garden falls into perpetual winter. One day, the giant is awakened by a linnet, and discovers that spring has returned to the garden, as the children have found a way in through a gap in the wall. He sees the error of his ways, and resolves to destroy the wall. However, when he emerges from his castle, all the children run away except for one boy who was trying to climb a tree. The giant helps this boy into the tree and announces: "It is your garden now, little children," and knocks down the wall. "The Devoted Friend"Hans is a gardener, the devoted friend of a rich miller. On the basis of this friendship, the miller helps himself to flowers from Hans' garden, and promises to give Hans an old, broken wheelbarrow, to replace one that Hans was forced to sell so that he could buy food. Against this promise, the miller compels Hans to run a series of arduous errands for him. One stormy night, the miller asks Hans to fetch a doctor for his sick son. Returning from the doctor, Hans is lost on the moors in the storm and drowns in a pool of water."The Remarkable Rocket"This story concerns a firework, who is one of many to be let off at the wedding of a prince and princess. The rocket is extremely pompous and self-important, and denigrates all the other fireworks, eventually bursting into tears to demonstrate his "sensitivity". As this makes him wet, he fails to ignite, and, the next day, is thrown away into a ditch.

Designed to appeal to the book lover, the Macmillan Collector's Library is a series of beautifully bound pocket-sized gift editions of much loved classic titles. Bound in real cloth, printed on high quality paper, and featuring ribbon markers and gilt edges, Macmillan Collector's Library are books to love and treasure. The richness of Oscar Wilde's way with words and ideas are given full range in this sparkling collection of short stories written between 1887 and 1891. There are ghost stories, moral tales, detective fiction and, above all, fairy stories here to delight and entertain. From the comically unsuccessful and unhappy spook in 'The Canterville Ghost' to the incompetent would-be murderer in 'Lord Arthur Saville's Crime' we are treated to the extravagance and dexterity of Wilde's wit. However it is particularly in the fairy stories that we see the brilliance of Wilde's vision of society and human action, with each tale having both beauty and simplicity while at the same time exploring complex moral issues. The challenge and pleasure of Wilde's short stories is the simultaneous appeal to both child and adult with their themes of Love, Truth and Sacrifice which are as relevant today as they were when they were written.