Salome: A Tragedy in One Act

"Salomé" is a 1891 play in one act by Oscar Wilde. Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (1854-1900) was an Irish poet and playwright who became one of the most popular in London during the 1880s and 1890s. Well-known for his sharp wit and extravagant attire, Wilde was a proponent of aestheticism and wrote in a variety of forms including poetry, fiction, and drama. He was famously imprisoned for homosexual acts from 1895 to 1897 and died at the age of 46, just three years after his release. In his play "Salomé", Wilde offers his own telling of the Bible's story of Salome, the stepdaughter of Herod Antipas who demands John the Baptist's head as payment for her performance of the dance of the seven veils. A fantastic play not to be missed by lovers of the stage and fans Wilde's seminal work. Other notable works by this author include: "Picture of Dorian Gray" (1890), "An Ideal Husband" (1893), and "The Importance of Being Earnest" (1895). Read & Co. Classics is proudly republishing this classic play now complete with a specially-commissioned new biography of the author.