Oscar Wilde was a prolific and spontaneous storyteller who once declared, "I cannot think otherwise than in stories." Here are a handful of his shorter works that demonstrate his range, versatility, and skill as a storyteller, which is too often overshadowed by his reputation as a dramatist, critical theorist, and novelist.

Wilde shows his wit in the social parodies "The Canterville Ghost", "Lord Arthur Savile's Crime", "The Sphinx Without a Secret", and "The Model Millionaire". In "The Portrait of Mr. W.H.", he identifies the mysterious dedicatee of Shakespeare's sonnets. Finally, the collection is rounded out by a selection of well-known fairy tales, including "The Happy Prince", "The Nightingale and the Rose", "The Selfish Giant", and "The Devoted Friend".