The Happy Prince and Other Tales
by Oscar Wilde
D. Nutt
Oscar Wilde's literary reputation rests mostly on his plays, his sole novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and the works inspired by his imprisonment, De Profundis and The Ballad of Reading Gaol.
It is often forgotten he was also a gifted writer of short fiction and particularly of stories for children, five of the best of which were published in 1888 as The Happy Prince and Other Tales.
Skilfully crafted to appeal to adults reading them aloud as well as to children listening or reading themselves, the tales include a subtext of ironic social commentary which clearly shows the influence of Charles Dickens.
Wilde's fables, however, belong in a longer tradition stretching back to Aesop. They have simple moral themes - happiness cannot be achieved through selfishness; kindness often goes unrewarded.
The Nightingale and the Rose and The Devoted Friend are both stories of great self sacrifice unappreciated by the unworthy, and several of the tales are populated by egotistical monsters.