Author(s): Oscar Wilde

Fiction

"The Happy Prince" is one of the most famous and beloved of Oscar Wilde's tales. This volume also includes two more of Wilde's most treasured stories, "The Selfish Giant" and "The Nightingale and the Rose." After the death of a young prince, his subjects erect a richly bejewelled statue of him. From this new perch high above the city, the soul of the Happy Prince surveys the lives of its inhabitants, witnessing their poverty and desperation. He resolves to alleviate his people's misery, enlisting the help of a swallow heading south for the winter. Moved, the swallow obliges the prince... with unforgettably poignant results. Wilde described this story of love and sacrifice as being 'meant partly for children, and partly for those who have kept the childlike faculties of wonder and joy'