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Audiobook edition · 2 h 20 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the name you invent to escape your duties becomes the one thing love demands?
In Oscar Wilde’s farce The Importance of Being Earnest, Jack Worthing invents a wicked brother named Ernest to escape to London. His friend Algernon Moncrieff invents an invalid named Bunbury to dodge his own duties. But Jack wants to marry Gwendolen Fairfax, who knows him as Ernest—and is determined to marry a man with that name.
From Algernon’s London rooms to the garden of Jack’s country house, polite manners give lies room to grow. Jack’s imaginative ward, Cecily Cardew, has a romance written in her diary. Gwendolen’s mother, Lady Bracknell, judges suitors by wealth and family. Between cucumber sandwiches, an examination of a suitor, and a quarrel over tea, Wilde asks how much appearances matter.
What you’ll discover
- Two lives to juggle Follow Jack and Algernon as their invented excuses turn escape into a tangle of expectations.
- Love by another name Meet women whose romantic hopes attach themselves to a name rather than a man.
- A formidable social gatekeeper Watch Lady Bracknell weigh a suitor against the demands of money, rank, and family.
- Perfect manners over tea Enjoy the garden encounter where Gwendolen and Cecily begin politely before their quarrel takes shape.
- The joke beneath earnestness Discover how Wilde turns a name into a playful challenge to seriousness and sincerity.
Who will love it
You will love this play if you enjoy quick wit, comic misunderstandings, and clever talk about manners, marriage and money. It suits lovers of theatre and anyone who likes every line to be a small joke.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Two gentlemen with invented excuses
- Bunburying means living a second life
- Lady Bracknell questions a suitor
- The garden, the governess and a false mourning
- Two women, two diaries, one imaginary man
- Muffins, a dignified silence and a bargain
- Names, truth and the meaning of earnest
- Society, wit and the shape of the farce
Who’s who
- Jack WorthingA well-off country gentleman who invents a wicked brother named Ernest to escape his duties, and who wants to marry Gwendolen.
- Algernon MoncrieffA witty, hungry idler who invents an invalid friend called Bunbury and plans to meet Jack's pretty young ward.
- Gwendolen FairfaxAlgernon's confident cousin, who has decided she can love only a man named Ernest and intends to marry Jack.
- Cecily CardewJack's eighteen-year-old ward, who lives in the country, keeps a vivid diary and dreams of marrying a man named Ernest.
- Lady BracknellGwendolen's mother and Algernon's aunt, who judges every suitor by income, address and family, and who guards her daughter's future.
- Miss PrismCecily's strict governess, who admires Dr. Chasuble, preaches thrift and duty, and once wrote a three-volume novel that was lost.
- Dr. ChasubleThe learned local clergyman, who is ready to christen anyone and who is fond of Miss Prism.
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- Large print hardcover
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L’importanza di chiamarsi Ernesto in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
L’importanza di chiamarsi Ernesto
by Oscar Wilde · 1899
Two friends invent a brother and an invalid to escape duty, and two women both swear they will marry only an Ernest.
Medium levelUnder 2 hours to read2 languages
Impara una lingua con i classici di livello mediumSpagnoloFranceseTedescoItalianoGiapponesePortogheseIngleseCome misuriamo i livelli
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In short
Picture a man who invents a wicked younger brother to slip away from his duties in the country. His best friend invents a permanent invalid to escape social calls in town.
L’importanza di chiamarsi Ernesto in breve
- Tempo di lettura
- Circa 1 h 20 min1 h 5 min fast, 1 h 35 min slow
- Durata
- 19.300 parole
- Livello nella biblioteca
- Medio longer sentences, everyday words
- Prima pubblicazione
- 1899by Oscar Wilde
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). Quanto tempo ci vuole per leggere i classici · Aggiornato
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Two gentlemen with invented excuses
The play opens in Algernon Moncrieff's flat in London. Algernon is a charming idler. His servant Lane arranges tea, and Algernon asks why servants drink the champagne in a bachelor's home. Lane replies that married households rarely have a first-rate brand.
The cucumber sandwiches matter. Algernon orders them for his aunt, Lady Bracknell, and then quietly eats most of them himself. A rule is announced with great seriousness, and the speaker then breaks it with perfect calm. That is the play's method in miniature.
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Hai guardato
Quale edizione fa per me
- 15-minute summary
- Le idee principali dell’intero libro in circa 14 minuti. Per un primo sguardo o per rinfrescare la memoria.
Dettagli
- First published
- 1899
- Language
- Italiano
- Reading time
- 1 h 30 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cita questa edizione
Wilde, Oscar. The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-importance-of-being-earnest-a-trivial-comedy-for-serious-people.
Wilde, O. (2026). The importance of being earnest: A trivial comedy for serious people. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-importance-of-being-earnest-a-trivial-comedy-for-serious-people (Original work published 1899)
Wilde, Oscar. The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-importance-of-being-earnest-a-trivial-comedy-for-serious-people.
@book{wilde2026importance,
author = {Wilde, Oscar},
title = {The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-importance-of-being-earnest-a-trivial-comedy-for-serious-people},
note = {First published 1899}
}
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What is The Importance of Being Earnest about?
It is a comedy about two men who invent imaginary people to escape their duties. Their lies tangle when they court two young women who each wish to marry a man called Ernest, and a stern aunt gets in the way.
What does Bunburying mean in the play?
Bunburying is Algernon's word for inventing an imaginary person, such as the sick friend Bunbury, so that you can leave dull duties and live a second, secret life. Jack does the same with his invented brother Ernest.
Why is the play called The Importance of Being Earnest?
The title is a pun. Earnest means serious and sincere, and Ernest is the name both women want in a husband. The play keeps both meanings in view while the men pretend to be someone else.
The author
Oscar Wilde
1854–1900 · Irish playwright and poet
Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) was an Irish poet, playwright, and novelist born in Dublin. He lived in London and later in France, where he died in Paris. He published The Picture of Dorian Gray in 1890. His play The Importance of Being Earnest was first performed in 1895.
More by Oscar Wilde
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