A House of Pomegranates

A House of Pomegranates is a collection of fairy tales, written by Oscar Wilde, that was published in 1891 as a second collection for The Happy Prince and Other Tales (1888). Wilde once said that this collection was "intended neither for the British child nor the British public."

The stories included in this collection are as follows:

The Young King

The Birthday of the Infanta

The Fisherman and his Soul

The Star-Child

THE YOUNG KING (excerpt)

It was the night before the day fixed for his

coronation, and the young King was sitting alone in his beautiful

chamber. His courtiers had all taken their leave of him, bowing

their heads to the ground, according to the ceremonious usage of the

day, and had retired to the Great Hall of the Palace, to receive a

few last lessons from the Professor of Etiquette; there being some of

them who had still quite natural manners, which in a courtier is, I

need hardly say, a very grave offence.

The lad - for he was only a lad, being but sixteen

years of age - was not sorry at their departure, and had flung

himself back with a deep sigh of relief on the soft cushions of his

embroidered couch, lying there, wild-eyed and open-mouthed, like a

brown woodland Faun, or some young animal of the forest newly snared

by the hunters.

And, indeed, it was the hunters who had found him,

coming upon him almost by chance as, bare-limbed and pipe in hand, he

was following the flock of the poor goatherd who had brought him up,

and whose son he had always fancied himself to be. The child of

the old King’s only daughter by a secret marriage with one much

beneath her in station - a stranger, some said, who, by the wonderful

magic of his lute-playing, had made the young Princess love him;

while others spoke of an artist from Rimini, to whom the Princess had

shown much, perhaps too much honour, and who had suddenly disappeared

from the city, leaving his work in the Cathedral unfinished - he had

been, when but a week old, stolen away from his mother’s side, as

she slept, and given into the charge of a common peasant and his

wife, who were without children of their own, and lived in a remote

part of the forest, more than a day’s ride from the town.

Grief, or the plague, as the court physician stated, or, as some

suggested, a swift Italian poison administered in a cup of spiced

wine, slew, within an hour of her wakening, the white girl who had

given him birth, and as the trusty messenger who bare the child

across his saddle-bow stooped from his weary horse and knocked at the

rude door of the goatherd’s hut, the body of the Princess was being

lowered into an open grave that had been dug in a deserted

churchyard, beyond the city gates, a grave where it was said that

another body was also lying, that of a young man of marvellous and

foreign beauty, whose hands were tied behind him with a knotted cord,

and whose breast was stabbed with many red wounds...

Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 1854 – 30

November 1900) was an Irish playwright, novelist, essayist, and poet.

After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of

London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s. He is remembered

for his epigrams, his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, his plays, as well as the circumstances of his imprisonment and early death.

Wilde's parents were successful Anglo-Irish, Dublin intellectuals. Their son became fluent in French and German early in life. At university, Wilde read Greats; he proved himself to be an outstanding classicist, first at Dublin, then at Oxford. He became known for his involvement in the rising philosophy of aestheticism, led by two of his tutors, Walter Pater and John Ruskin. After university, Wilde moved to London into fashionable cultural and social circles.

As a spokesman for aestheticism, he tried his hand at various

literary activities: he published a book of poems, lectured in the

United States and Canada on the new "English Renaissance in Art", and

then returned to London where he worked prolifically as a journalist.

Known for his biting wit, flamboyant dress and glittering conversation,

Wilde became one of the best-known personalities of his day.

At the turn of the 1890s, he refined his ideas about the supremacy of

art in a series of dialogues and essays, and incorporated themes of

decadence, duplicity, and beauty into his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray

(1890). The opportunity to construct aesthetic details precisely, and

combine them with larger social themes, drew Wilde to write drama. He

wrote Salome

(1891) in French in Paris but it was refused a licence for England due

to the absolute prohibition of Biblical subjects on the English stage.

Unperturbed, Wilde produced four society comedies in the early 1890s,

which made him one of the most successful playwrights of late Victorian

London.


  1. Dorian Grays porträtt

    Oscar Wilde

    audiobookaudiobookbookbook
  2. 50 Masterpieces you have to read before you die

    Frances Hodgson Burnett, Homer, Charles Dickens, Lyman Frank Baum, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Thomas Hardy, Robert Louis Stevenson, Henry Haggard, Wilkie Collins, H.G. Wells, Sir Walter Scott, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Louisa May Alcott, Henry Fielding, Mary Shelley, Arthur Conan Doyle, Leo Tolstoy, Euripides, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Alexander Pushkin, James Fenimore Cooper, Daniel Defoe, Joseph Conrad, Jonathan Swift, William Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, John Bunyan, Charles Darwin, Alfred Tennyson, Bram Stoker, James Joyce, Dante Alighieri, Howard Pyle, Jane Austen, Emily Bronte, Giovanni Boccaccio, Rudyard Kipling

    book
  3. Beware The Silence : Ultimate Collection of Horror Classics, Macabre Tales & Supernatural Mysteries

    Wilhelm Hauff, Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Adelbert von Chamisso, Oscar Wilde, Robert Louis Stevenson, Edgar Allan Poe, William Hope Hodgson, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, John Buchan, Louis Tracy, Bram Stoker, Anatole France, Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë, Jack London, Henry James, Théophile Gautier, Arthur Conan Doyle, Richard Le Gallienne, Jane Austen, Ralph Adams Cram, Thomas De Quincey, John Meade Falkner, Guy De Maupassant, Thomas Hardy, William Archer, Daniel Defoe, John Kendrick Bangs, Cleveland Moffett, Brander Matthews, Marie Belloc Lowndes, Horace Walpole, Rudyard Kipling, Lafcadio Hearn, Hugh Walpole, Ambrose Bierce, Frederick Marryat, Ellis Parker Butler, Washington Irving, Leonid Andreyev, David Lindsay, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Grant Allen, Arthur Machen, Wilkie Collins, William Makepeace Thackeray, Thomas Peckett Prest, James Malcolm Rymer, Fergus Hume, Edward Bellamy, Walter Hubbell, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Leopold Kompert, Richard Marsh, Florence Marryat, Catherine Crowe, John William Polidori, Vincent O'Sullivan, H.G. Wells, Robert W. Chambers, W. Jacobs, M.P. Shiel, E F Benson, Jerome K Jerome, M. R. James, E. T. A. A Hoffmann, Stanley G. Weinbaum, George W. M. M Reynolds, H.P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, Edith Nesbit, Sabine Baring-Gould, William Thomas Beckford, Francis Marion Crawford, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Mary Louisa Molesworth, Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, Nikolai Gogol, Mary Shelley, Elizabeth Gaskell, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Frank R. Stockton, A. T. Quiller-Couch, Ann Radcliffe, Louisa M. Alcott, Amelia B. Edwards, Leonard Kip, Matthew Gregory Lewis, Fitz-James O’Brien, Katherine Rickford, Bithia Mary Croker, Catherine L. Pirkis, Émile Erckmann, Alexandre Chatrian, Pedro De Alarçon, H. H. Munro (Saki), Pliny the Younger, Helena Blavatsky, Villiers de l'Isle-Adam, William F. Harvey, Fiona Macleod, William T. Stead, Gambier Bolton, Andrew Jackson Davis, Nizida, Walter F. Prince, Chester Bailey Fernando

    book
  4. Something Wicked: 560+ Horror Classics, Macabre Tales & Supernatural Mysteries : The Call of Cthulhu, Frankenstein, Dracula, The Murders in the Rue Morgue, Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde…

    H.P. Lovecraft, H.G. Wells, Edgar Allan Poe, Henry James, Hugh Walpole, M. R. James, Wilkie Collins, E F Benson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ambrose Bierce, Arthur Machen, William Hope Hodgson, Arthur Conan Doyle, Grant Allen, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker, Théophile Gautier, Richard Marsh, Joseph Sheridan Fanu, Thomas Hardy, Charles Dickens, Rudyard Kipling, Guy De Maupassant, Elizabeth Gaskell, Mark Twain, Daniel Defoe, Jerome K Jerome, Fitz-James O’Brien, Catherine Crowe, Émile Erckmann, Alexandre Chatrian, Pedro De Alarçon, Amelia B. Edwards, Washington Irving, John Meade Falkner, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Mary E. Freeman, Louisa M. Alcott, Edith Nesbit, Mary Louisa Molesworth, Francis Marion Crawford, John Kendrick Bangs, John Buchan, Sabine Baring-Gould, Cleveland Moffett, Louis Tracy, Nikolai Gogol, James Malcolm Rymer, Thomas Peckett Prest, Frederick Marryat, Oscar Wilde, Robert Louis Stevenson, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, W. W. Jacobs, Wilhelm Hauff, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Robert W. Chambers, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Thomas De Quincey, William Makepeace Thackeray, E. T. Hoffmann, Robert E. Howard, David Lindsay, Marie Belloc Lowndes, Edward Bellamy, Jack London, Pliny the Younger, Helena Blavatsky, Fergus Hume, Florence Marryat, Villiers l'Isle de Adam, William Archer, William F. Harvey, Katherine Rickford, Ralph Adams Cram, Leopold Kompert, Brander Matthews, Vincent O'Sullivan, Ellis Parker Butler, A. T. Quiller-Couch, Fiona Macleod, Lafcadio Hearn, William T. Stead, Gambier Bolton, Andrew Jackson Davis, Nizida, Walter F. Prince, Chester Bailey Fernando, Leonard Kip, Frank R. Stockton, Bithia Mary Croker, Catherine L. Pirkis, Leonid Andreyev, Anatole France, Richard Le Gallienne, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Stanley G. Weinbaum, Horace Walpole, William Thomas Beckford, Matthew Gregory Lewis, Ann Radcliffe, Jane Austen, William Polidori, Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë, Walter Hubbell, George W. Reynolds, M.P. Shiel, Adelbert von Chamisso, Saki, H. H. Munro

    book
  5. 50 Classic Gothic Works Vol. 1 (Golden Deer Classics) : Dracula, Frankenstein, The Black Cat, The Picture Of Dorian Gray...

    Oscar Wilde, Edgar Allan Poe, Charles Dickens, Golden Deer, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, Horace Walpole, William Beckford, H.P. Lovecraft, Ann Radcliffe, William Godwin, Charles Brockden Brown, Jane Austen, Mary Shelley, Charles Robert Maturin, Washington Irving, James Hogg, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Victor Hugo, Charlotte Brontë, James Malcom Rymer, Robert Louis Stevenson, Fyodor Dostoyevsky

    book
  6. The Picture of Dorian Gray

    Oscar Wilde

    audiobook
  7. 15+ Masterpieces of Gothic Horror. Classics Collection : Frankenstein, Dracula, The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Carmilla, The Turn of the Screw and others

    Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker, Oscar Wilde, Robert Louis Stevenson, Edgar Allan Poe, Washington Irving, Sheridan Le Fanu, Henry James, Arthur Machen, Nikolai Gogol

    audiobookbook
  8. Children’s Stories by Oscar Wilde Volume 2

    Oscar Wilde

    audiobook
  9. DEEP, DARK & UNSETTLING: 100+ Gothic Classics in One Edition : Chilling Ghost Tales and Haunting Mysteries: A Journey into Gothic Classics

    Théophile Gautier, William Blake, Horace Walpole, Mary Shelley, Ann Radcliffe, Matthew Gregory Lewis, Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë, William Thomas Beckford, Eliza Parsons, Eleanor Sleath, William Godwin, Charles Brockden Brown, Percy Bysshe Shelley, E T A Hoffmann, Thomas love Peacock, Edgar Allan Poe, John William Polidori, Washington Irving, Charles Robert Maturin, James Hogg, Victor Hugo, Frederick Marryat, Nikolai Gogol, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, George W. M. Reynolds, James Malcolm Rymer, Thomas Peckett Prest, Nathaniel Hawthorne, George Eliot, Wilkie Collins, Mayne Reid, Robert Louis Stevenson, Charles Dickens, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, Émile Erckmann, Alexandre Chatrian, Walter Hubbell, Arthur Conan Doyle, Oscar Wilde, Guy De Maupassant, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Arthur Machen, George MacDonald, John Meade Falkner, Marie Corelli, Richard Marsh, Henry James, Bram Stoker, Joseph Conrad, Guy Boothby, W. Jacobs, M. R. James, Robert Hugh Benson, E F Benson, Gaston Leroux, William Hope Hodgson, Grant Allen, Tobias Smollett, Clara Reeve, Friedrich Schiller, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, John Keats, Lord Byron, Robert Browning, Christina Rossetti

    book
  10. The Picture of Dorian Gray

    Oscar Wilde

    audiobook
  11. The Picture of Dorian Gray

    Oscar Wilde

    audiobookbook
  12. De Profundis

    Oscar Wilde

    audiobookbook

Relaterade kategorier