The Canterville Ghost ( A to Z Classics)

"The Canterville Ghost" is a short story by Oscar Wilde. The story is about a family who moves to a castle haunted by the ghost of a dead nobleman, who killed his wife and was starved to death by his wife's brothers. Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 1854 – 30 November 1900) was an Irish playwright, novelist, essayist, and poet.

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up Lovers of Oscar Wilde's stories will delight in this new illustrated version of The Canterville Ghost if the picture book format does not keep them from finding it. Wilde's story of an American family who moves into Canterville Chase and annoys a weary ghost with their lack of belief in him is a wry commentary on the ways of British nobility and of their hard-headed American cousins. Like many of Wilde's tales, this one is filled with sophisticated allusions to his social and political milieu, but ends as sentimental romance. Zwerger's wry pictures highlight this tone beautifully. Her toothless ghost is round and comical, as would suit a ghost whom no one fears, and her heroine, Virginia, is young and sweetly boyish. All of the illustrations are set against misty gray watercolor backgrounds except for the climactic scene, echoed on the front cover, in which the tiny huntsmen on the wallpaper call out to Virginia to ``Go Back.'' This will make a fine read-aloud for audiences of secondary students who are prepared to savor Wilde's ironic humor and Zwerger's delicate watercolors. Barbara Chatton, College of Education, University of Wyoming, LaramieCopyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 7^-12. Although first published in 1891, this ghost story remains a classic of Wildean wit and Victorian sentimentality. True, some of the references to melodrama and nineteenth-century Anglo-American attitudes may elude modern readers, but the basic story of a hardheaded American family that buys a haunted British manor house and proceeds to drive the resident ghost nearly crazy with its skepticism is still a delight, as are Wilde's epigrams: "We have really everything in common with America nowadays, except, of course, language." Austrian illustrator Zwerger, a master of the exquisite line, has captured the look of the period and the liveliness of the story in this oversize volume. Michael Cart

About the Author

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) was an Irish-born poet, dramatist, and novelist. His works include collections of fairy stories; the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray; and many brilliantly witty plays, including what is often considered to be his masterpiece, The Importance of Being Earnest.Lisbeth Zwerger was born in Vienna, where she later studied at the Academy of Art. Internationally renowned as one of the finest contemporary illustrators of children's literature, Zwerger chose ""The Gift of the Magi"" as the first American story she illustrated.

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