Description
The Happy Prince and Other Tales by Oscar Wilde. Available on Amazon.
- Author: Oscar Wilde
- Published: 1888
- Pages: 152
The Happy Prince and Other Tales
€7.95
Additional information
| Author | Oscar Wilde |
|---|
What the internet says
Aggregated insights from reviews and discussions across the web.
Overall reception: Mostly positive
Oscar Wilde's 'The Happy Prince and Other Tales' receives overwhelmingly positive reception across review platforms, with readers praising its depth, emotional resonance, and timeless moral lessons. On Amazon, 56 customers mention the content positively, highlighting the collection as 'packed with heartfelt meaning' and appreciating stories that focus on depth missing in modern children's literature. Goodreads reviewers consistently rate it highly (4.03 average on StoryGraph), with many noting the stories work on multiple levels—appearing as simple fairy tales to children while containing profound commentary on compassion, sacrifice, and social inequality for adult readers. Multiple reviewers describe being moved to tears, particularly by 'The Happy Prince' and 'The Selfish Giant.'
What readers loved
- Stories contain profound moral lessons about compassion, sacrifice, and kindness without being preachy
- Wilde's eloquent and poetic writing style makes the stories excellent for reading aloud
- Works on multiple levels—enjoyable for children while containing deeper meaning for adults
- Emotionally powerful and moving, with stories like 'The Nightingale and the Rose' and 'The Selfish Giant' particularly touching readers
- Contains sharp social commentary and satire on Victorian society that remains relevant today
- Quick, fast-paced reads that are accessible yet thought-provoking
- Explores complex themes like true versus false friendship, selfless love, and the ugliness of human nature with dark humor and bittersweet endings
Common critiques
- Illustrations receive mixed reviews—some find them intentionally primitive and hard to get used to, expecting more realistic or Art Nouveau style artwork
- Some stories can be heavy-handed in their Christian moralizing and religious allegories, with nearly every story becoming a 'surprise Christian parable'
- Certain stories like 'The Fisherman and His Soul' and 'The Birthday of The Infanta' are criticized as long-winded
- Stories often have dark, sad endings that may be difficult for younger children
- Readers familiar with Hans Christian Andersen find limited originality, describing it as a 'concoction of characters' from Andersen's work
Based on reviews from
- Amazon
- Goodreads
- The StoryGraph
- Goodreads Discussion
Reviews
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