Lord Arthur Savile's Crime; the Portrait of Mr. W.H., and Other Stories

Wilde takes a simple question what happens when a gentleman learns, via palm reading, that he is destined to commit murder? and constructs one of the most devilishly funny tales in the English language. Lord Arthur Savile, newly engaged and drenched in respectability, finds his spotless world shattered by a cheiromantist's grim prognosis. Rather than flee his fate, he decides to get ahead of it, embarking on a series of increasingly absurd attempts to fulfill the prophecy while maintaining his position in London society. The result is a pitch-perfect satire where murder becomes merely another item on a Victorian gentleman's todo list, alongside choosing the right flowers for the wedding. The collection also includes The Portrait of Mr. W.H., Wilde's playful meditation on the identity of the young man in Shakespeare's sonnets, and other stories that showcase his talent for blending philosophical wit with narrative pleasure. These are tales where nothing is quite what it seems, where society's rules mask deeper absurdities, and where Wilde's famous epigrams cut like glass.