Oscar Wilde's first comedy, Lady Windermere's Fan took London audiences by storm, netting ~7,000 for the author during its first run. The theme of a guilty secret which runs through all his major comedies proved to be a winner, both here and in his next play, A Woman of No Importance. The sparkling wit of Wilde's dialogue carries often farcical action to a plane of stylisation that is quite unique, and softens the serious criticism of English morals and manners that lies behind the sumptious settings and hilarious frivolity of his plays.

When oscar wilde decided to abandon serious tragedy and write comedy, he did so for financial reasons. He delivered the manuscript for Lady Windermere"s Fan, to the manager of St. James’Theatre explaining it as "one of those modern drawing-room plays with pink lampshades". This was a formula that was to serve him well.

Lady Windermere"s Fan opened on 2oth February 1892 and was an overwhelming success. As the final curtain fell that night, the audience clamoured for the author to appear, which he did, still smoking a cigarette, and saying with characteristic audacity:

"Ladies and gendemen, I have enjoyed this evening immensely.The actors have given us a charming rendition of a delightful play,and your appreciation has been most intelligent. I congratulate you on the great success of your performance which persuades me that you think almost as highly of the play as I do myself."

The popularity of Lady Windermere"s Fan rested principally on its dazzling dialogue, but it was also a well made play. It obeys Aristotelian unity of time, the action taking place within twenty-four hours, has a balanced cast, and an opening act which reveals themes that are developed within the course of the play. Its plot, like those of the next three plays Wilde was to write, revolves around a guilty secret. Mrs.Erlynne is a woman with a past. Initially presented as a blackmailer, her sudden jeopardizing of her own respectable future for the sake of her daughter"s reputation defies all expectations, and causes a shift in dramatic sympathy that compels attention……

Preface 

Lady Windermere"s Fan 

A Woman of No Importance