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bibliotequeish 's review for:

5.0

A trivial comedy for serious people.

Lady Bracknell - Are your parents living?

Jack - I have lost both my parents.

Lady Bracknell - To lose one parent, Mr. Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness



While this is a definitely a funny and enjoyable book, it also tackles the issues surrounding social hierarchy.
Oscar Wilde finds the humor in the divide between social classes and brings them to the reader in a non offensive way that will surly bring a smile to your face.

Jack Worthing ("Ernest in town and Jack in the country") adopted the personal Ernest who he passes off as his younger brother in order to travel to the city away from the moral obligations of being guardian to Cecily Cardew, his adoptive fathers grand daughter.
Jack finds himself in a bind when his love interest tells him that she could never love a man named Jack claiming the "only really safe name is Ernest"

Enter Algernon Moncrieff, he decides he too wants to be Ernest and introduces himself as such to Cecily.

Somehow Ernest has become everyone and no one.