Lord Arthur Savile's Crime; The Portrait of Mr. W.H., and Other Stories

Metadata

Gutenberg ID

773

Title

Lord Arthur Savile's Crime; The Portrait of Mr. W.H., and Other Stories

Language

en

Book source

Project Gutenberg

Description max 80 words

Oscar Wilde's witty collection features the ghostly Cantervilles, a cynical fortune-teller, and a Victorian ghost story. With sharp satire and romantic mystery, it explores duty, love, and the enduring power of art.

Summary up to 500 words

Oscar Wilde's collection *Lord Arthur Savile's Crime; The Portrait of Mr. W. H., and Other Stories* presents a diverse array of narratives ranging from the supernatural to the psychological, unified by Wilde's signature wit and exploration of human nature. The collection opens with 'Lord Arthur Savile's Crime,' a tale of fatalism where a young nobleman attempts to evade a family curse. His journey to a fortune-teller, Mr. Podgers, results in a prophecy that ironically compels him to commit the very crime he sought to avoid, illustrating the inescapable nature of destiny and the complexities of human character. In 'The Canterville Ghost,' Wilde reverses traditional ghost story tropes by placing a centuries-old English specter in an American household. The pragmatic, materialistic Otis family finds the ghost's hauntings amusing and eventually resolves to renovate his tomb. This cultural clash evolves into a touching reconciliation, as the ghost, weary of his lonely existence, finds solace in the kindness of the young American girl, Virginia, who offers him peace and an end to his suffering. 'The Sphinx without a Secret' shifts to a detective narrative where a seemingly impossible crime is solved not through physical evidence, but by a detective's keen psychological insight, highlighting the power of the mind over material facts. 'The Model Millionaire' offers a heartwarming story of social grace and generosity, where a penniless artist's sketch wins the affection of a wealthy heiress, only for a twist of fate to unite them in a marriage that rewards both artistic integrity and financial success. The collection concludes with 'The Portrait of Mr. W. H.,' a scholarly meditation on Shakespeare's sonnets. The narrator proposes the controversial theory that the poems were addressed to a young boy actor named Willie Hughes. Consumed by this belief, he dedicates his life to proving it, eventually driving his friend Erskine to suicide in a misguided attempt to verify the theory. The story serves as a tragic meditation on the power of belief, the permanence of artistic truth, and the destructive potential of obsession, leaving the reader to ponder the enduring legacy of art and the human capacity for conviction.

LLM editorial rating

4.2/5

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Categories

• Short Stories
• Fiction