This anthology is a thorough introduction to classic literature for those who have not yet experienced these literary masterworks. For those who have known and loved these works in the past, this is an invitation to reunite with old friends in a fresh new format. From Shakespeare’s finesse to Oscar Wilde’s wit, this unique collection brings together works as diverse and influential as The Pilgrim’s Progress and Othello. As an anthology that invites readers to immerse themselves in the masterpieces of the literary giants, it is must-have addition to any library.

De Profundis is Wilde's eloquent and bitter reproach from prison to his lover, Lord Alfred Douglas. He contrasts his behaviour with that of his close friend Robert Ross who became Wilde's literary executor. The Ballad of Reading Gaol is a deeply moving and characteristically generous poem on the horrors of prison life, which was published anonymously in 1898. This collection also includes the essay The Soul of Man under Socialism and two of his Platonic dialogues, The Decay of Lying and The Critic as Artist.

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Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 1854 – 30 November 1900) was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s. Today he is remembered for his epigrams, plays and the tragedy of his imprisonment, followed by his early death.


This book was published before 1923. We only publish the highest quality historical books because we believe everybody should have affordable access to timeless classics and important historical documents.


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Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 1854 – 30 November 1900) was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s. Today he is remembered for his epigrams, plays and the tragedy of his imprisonment, followed by his early death.


This book was published before 1923. We only publish the highest quality historical books because we believe everybody should have affordable access to timeless classics and important historical documents.


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This poem - originally published anonymously, written after Wilde's two year's hard labor in Reading prison - is the tale of a man who has been sentenced to hang for the murder of the woman he loved. "The Ballad of Reading Gaol" follows the inmate through his final three weeks, as he stares at the sky and silently drinks his beer ration. Heart-wrenching and eye-opening, the ballad also expresses perfectly Wilde's belief that humanity is made up only of offenders, each of us deserving a greater charity for the severity of our crimes.

The Ballad of Reading Gaol by Oscar Wilde (1854 – 1900) is a poem written after Wilde's release from Reading Gaol. He had been convicted of homosexual offences and sentenced to two years of hard labour.

This Kindle book also contain other poems by Oscar Wilde.

For easy navigation and reading of the poems, this Kingle book has an Active Table of Contents for access to all the poems individually and links at the beginning and end of every poem for easy navigation around the book. The proper line structures of the poems have been preserved respecting the needs of the written poetic forms.

So you know what is available, here is the list of poems:

The Ballad Of Reading Gaol, Helas!, Sonnet To Liberty, Ave Imperatrix, To Milton, Louis Napoleon, On The Massacre Of The Christians In Bulgari, Quantum Mutata, Libertatis Sacra Fames, Theoretikos, The Garden Of Eros, Requiescat, Sonnet On Approaching Italy, San Miniato, Ave Maria Gratia Plena, Italia, Holy Week At Genoa, Rome Unvisited, Urbs Sacra Aeterna, Sonnet On Hearing The Dies Irae Sung In The Sistine Chapel, Easter Day, E Tenebris, Vita Nuova, Madonna Mia, The New Helen, The Burden Of Itys, Impression Du Matin, Magdalen Walks, Athanasia, Serenade (For Music), Endymion (For Music), La Bella Donna Della Mia Mente, Chanson, Charmides, Les Silhouettes, La Fuite De La Lune, The Grave Of Keats, Theocritus--A Villanelle, In The Gold Room--A Harmony, Ballade De Marguerite (Normande), The Dole Of The King's Daughter (Breton), Amor Intellectualis, Santa Decc, A Vision, Impression De Voyage, The Grave Of Shelley, By The Arno, Fabien Dei Franchi, Phedre, Portia, Queen Henrietta Maria, Camma, Panthea, Impression--Le Reveillon, At Verona, Apologia, Quia Multum Amavi, Silentium Amoris, Her Voice, My Voice, Taedium Vitae, Humanitad, From Spring Days To Winter (For Music), Tristitiae, The True Knowledge, Le Jardin, La Mer, Under The Balcony, The Harlot's House, Le Jardin Des Tuileries, On The Sale By Auction Of Keats' Love Letters, The New Remorse, Le Panneau, Les Ballon, Canzonet, Symphony In Yellow, In The Forest, To My Wife--With A Copy Of My Poem, With A Copy Of 'A House Of Pomegranates, Roses And Rue, Desespoir, Pan--Double Villanelle

The Ballad of Reading Gaol by Oscar Wilde (1854 – 1900) is a poem written after Wilde's release from Reading Gaol. He had been convicted of homosexual offences and sentenced to two years of hard labour.

This Kindle book also contain other poems by Oscar Wilde.

For easy navigation and reading of the poems, this Kingle book has an Active Table of Contents for access to all the poems individually and links at the beginning and end of every poem for easy navigation around the book. The proper line structures of the poems have been preserved respecting the needs of the written poetic forms.

So you know what is available, here is the list of poems:

The Ballad Of Reading Gaol, Helas!, Sonnet To Liberty, Ave Imperatrix, To Milton, Louis Napoleon, On The Massacre Of The Christians In Bulgari, Quantum Mutata, Libertatis Sacra Fames, Theoretikos, The Garden Of Eros, Requiescat, Sonnet On Approaching Italy, San Miniato, Ave Maria Gratia Plena, Italia, Holy Week At Genoa, Rome Unvisited, Urbs Sacra Aeterna, Sonnet On Hearing The Dies Irae Sung In The Sistine Chapel, Easter Day, E Tenebris, Vita Nuova, Madonna Mia, The New Helen, The Burden Of Itys, Impression Du Matin, Magdalen Walks, Athanasia, Serenade (For Music), Endymion (For Music), La Bella Donna Della Mia Mente, Chanson, Charmides, Les Silhouettes, La Fuite De La Lune, The Grave Of Keats, Theocritus--A Villanelle, In The Gold Room--A Harmony, Ballade De Marguerite (Normande), The Dole Of The King's Daughter (Breton), Amor Intellectualis, Santa Decc, A Vision, Impression De Voyage, The Grave Of Shelley, By The Arno, Fabien Dei Franchi, Phedre, Portia, Queen Henrietta Maria, Camma, Panthea, Impression--Le Reveillon, At Verona, Apologia, Quia Multum Amavi, Silentium Amoris, Her Voice, My Voice, Taedium Vitae, Humanitad, From Spring Days To Winter (For Music), Tristitiae, The True Knowledge, Le Jardin, La Mer, Under The Balcony, The Harlot's House, Le Jardin Des Tuileries, On The Sale By Auction Of Keats' Love Letters, The New Remorse, Le Panneau, Les Ballon, Canzonet, Symphony In Yellow, In The Forest, To My Wife--With A Copy Of My Poem, With A Copy Of 'A House Of Pomegranates, Roses And Rue, Desespoir, Pan--Double Villanelle

Wilde's Ballad of Reading Gaol, his last work for publication in 1898 is known the world over for its insight and telling phrases, such as 'bricks of shame', 'souls in pain' and 'that little tent of blue, that prisoners call the sky'. Possibly the greatest and most influential artistic work in terms of penal reform and conveying to outsiders the soul desolate nature and experience of imprisonment, the ballad crystalises the degradation, isolation, fear, introspection and sense of loss involved.This new book also looks at the ballad from a fresh perspective: that of a serving prison officer who has spent a substantial part of his career inside the very prison that Wilde wrote about - noting on a daily basis connections between its fabric, the prison system and the ballad as well as with the town of Reading. The result is a fine work that casts new light on Wilde's incarceration, suggests a number of fresh explanations for some lines of the ballad and puts forward an until now unpublished explanation as to why Reading was chosen for Wilde. Indicative of this approach, Anthony Stokes explains why even C.3.3 is not what it seems, why certain lines in the ballad have been misunderstood by 'experts' given the context and times. But Anthony Stoke's book is much more than this. Based on minute research over more than ten years it traces the history of "Reading Gaol" from early times to the present day, dealing with its role as a bridewell, local prison and today one that carries out ground-breaking work with young offenders. There are also chapters on its use as a place of internment for Irish Republicans in the wake of the Easter Rising, as a top secret Correctional Centre for Canadian troops serving in England during World War II, escape attempts, riots and the executions that took place at Reading over the years including during the time when James Marwood (the inventor of the 'long drop') officiated; much of this based on official records and Execution Log. There are also notes on other interesting prisoners ranging from the notorious Reading baby farmer Amelia Dyer to the Hollywood TV and movie actor, Stacey Keach.But above all it is Oscar Wilde and the "Ballad of Reading Goal" that permeate and inform this book as the author seeks to combine information about the prison with frequently telling explanations that all too often converge with the more universal nerve that was touched upon by one of England's greatest creative minds - making "Pit of Shame" a book for every Wilde afficionado, penal reformer and student of English literature. With a special 16 page collection of illustrations charting life in "Reading Gaol" and of some of its prisoners.

Title: The Ballad of Reading Gaol : Classics Book with History of Author (Annotated)

Author: Oscar Wilde

He did not wear his scarlet coat,
For blood and wine are red,
And blood and wine were on his hands
When they found him with the dead,
The poor dead woman whom he loved,
And murdered in her bed.

He walked amongst the Trial Men
In a suit of shabby grey;
A cricket cap was on his head,
And his step seemed light and gay;
But I never saw a man who looked
So wistfully at the day.

I never saw a man who looked
With such a wistful eye
Upon that little tent of blue
Which prisoners call the sky,
And at every drifting cloud that went
With sails of silver by.

Title: The Ballad of Reading Gaol : Classics Book with History of Author (Annotated)

Author: Oscar Wilde

He did not wear his scarlet coat,
For blood and wine are red,
And blood and wine were on his hands
When they found him with the dead,
The poor dead woman whom he loved,
And murdered in her bed.

He walked amongst the Trial Men
In a suit of shabby grey;
A cricket cap was on his head,
And his step seemed light and gay;
But I never saw a man who looked
So wistfully at the day.

I never saw a man who looked
With such a wistful eye
Upon that little tent of blue
Which prisoners call the sky,
And at every drifting cloud that went
With sails of silver by.