An Ideal Husband is an 1895 comedy by Oscar Wilde which revolves around blackmail and political corruption, and touches on the themes of public and private honor. The action is set in London, in "the present", and takes place within a single day. "Sooner or later," Wilde notes, "we shall all have to pay for what we do." But he adds that, "No one should be entirely judged by their past."

Dramatis Personae

• The Earl of Caversham, K.G.
• Viscount Goring, his son
• Sir Robert Chiltern, Bart., Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs
• Vicomte De Nanjac, Attache at the French Embassy In London
• Mr. Montford
• Mason, butler to Sir Robert Chiltern
• Phipps, Lord Goring's servant
• James, a footman
• Harold, a footman
• Lady Chiltern
• Lady Markby
• The Countess of Basildon
• Mrs. Marchmont
• Miss Mabel Chiltern, Sir Robert Chiltern's sister
• Mrs. Cheveley

Plot

Sir Robert Chiltern, a Government minister, who built his fortune on a single dishonest act, is blackmailed by Mrs Cheveley, who wants his assistance in another dishonest scheme. Chiltern asks Lord Goring, the ne'er-do-well son of the Earl of Caversham, for advice, and Lord Goring, familiar (in several ways) with Mrs Chevely, ultimately saves Chiltern's marriage and social position.

Film adaptation

1999 film: see http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0122541/

External links

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

An Ideal Husband

• Text (http://emotionalliteracyeducation.com/classic_books_online/ihsbn10.htm)