Oscar Wilde's shorter fiction includes memorable fairy-tales, witty comedies, and daring narrative experiments: all are contained in this enchanting collection.,Includes best-loved stories such as 'The Happy Prince', 'The Selfish Giant', and 'Lord Arthur Savile's Crime' as well as the innovative 'Portrait of Mr W. H.', about the mysterious dedicatee of Shakespeare's sonnets.,An Appendix reprints an important passage from the book-length version of 'The Portrait of Mr W. H.' on the Neo-Platonic ideal of friendship between men, an important key to the short story's meaning.,The Introduction argues for Wilde's originality and literary achievement as a short-story writer, emphasizing his literary skill, and discussing the periodicals in which they first appeared, their intended readership, and their enduring value.,Includes a useful and up-to-date bibliography and extensive and helpful explanatory notes.