# The Importance of Being Earnest

**Author:** Oscar Wilde
**Grade range:** Grades 9–12
**Age range:** 13–18
**First published:** 1895
**Page count:** 64
**Genre:** Drama
**ISBN-13:** `9780486264783`
**ISBN-10:** `0486264785`
**Canonical URL:** https://readinglist.school/book/the-importance-of-being-earnest
**License:** [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) — please credit ReadingList.school when citing.

## About this book

Oscar Wilde's farce follows two young men who both invent fictional identities named Ernest to escape social obligations — and the romantic and mistaken-identity tangles that follow. The play skewers Victorian earnestness, marriage, and class with relentless wit. Commonly assigned in grades 9-12 for studying satire, comedy of manners, and wordplay.

## Themes

- social class
- identity and reputation
- marriage and class
- humor

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