An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde

Buy it here!

​​My Rating: 5 stars

The ideal book, from an ideal author. Not one of the most famous books for Sir Oscar Wilde but it definitely should be. The sense of humour, the sarcasm and the description of society is absolutely perfect, nothing short of the greatness of the writing of Oscar Wilde. 

“An Ideal Husband” pictures a young man in society, whose past comes back to haunt him, in a setting where appearances, the titles and obligations are everything. In the public setting, Robert Chilton is a respectable member of society, a respected politician and a public figure known for his integrity a whose whole persona is based on integrity. In a private setting, Robert shows admiration and utter love for his wife, which is completely returned, and a great friend to his well-known bachelor friend Lord Goring. Everything quickly falls apart though and when the truth is about to be revealed, Robert confesses his past to his wife and asks for her help.

In the end, Robert wears the mask of arrogance, power and what could be considered the “ideal” situation in life only to reveal that not everything is what it seems and everyone has something they are ashamed of.

Moral of the story: Be Always honest to your wife and trust your crazy friend to come up with a solution to your problem.

My favourite character is without a shadow of a doubt, Lord Goring. It's hard not laugh with phrases like “I love talking about nothing, father. It is the only thing I know anything about.” or “For so well-dressed a woman, Mrs Cheveley, you have moments of admirable common sense.”

It's the type of book that no matter how many times you read it, it always makes you laugh.

---