Vera; or, The Nihilists: A Critical Edition of Oscar Wilde's First Play

An authoritative critical edition of Vera; or, The Nihilists, Oscar Wilde's first play.

This is the only edition of Vera to be based on all known manuscripts and author-annotated copies of the script, including Wilde's rehearsal script and a list of emendations he made for the first production in New York in August 1883.

The 1882 text of the play is provided with a Critical Apparatus that details differences between that text and other textual witnesses to the play's composition and revision. Transcriptions of early manuscripts and manuscripts relating to later revisions are also included. Commentary sheds lights on Wilde's allusions and his literary and historical sources, as well as the performance choices of actors and critics' responses to the premiere.

An introduction summarises the history of the play's composition, revision, and production, and evaluates the reasons for the play's failure.