Lies: Oscar Wilde

‘The truth is rarely pure and never simple. Modern life would be very tedious if it were either, and modern literature a complete impossibility.’

Is lying simply an uncomfortable truth about life or something to be celebrated? In these dazzlingly witty pages we find deceptions of all kinds. From false names to imaginary friends to fictitious engagements, Wilde proves himself to be a connoisseur of creativity and argues that lying may be an art form in itself.

Selected from The Importance of Being Earnest, The Decay of Lying and The Picture of Dorian Gray