The Young King (Unabridged)

Written by Oscar Wilde

Narrated by Ray Ritchie

"The Young King" is a short historical fiction story for children by the Irish author Oscar Wilde. It was first published in 1891 as part of the anthology House of Pomegranates, which also includes "The Birthday of the Infanta", "The Fisherman and his Soul" and "The Star-Child".
The action of "The Young King" takes place in an unnamed kingdom at an unspecified point in the past. The story's title character and protagonist is a 16-year-old boy. Although he has grown up in poverty, after he becomes king, he thinks only of rare and beautiful objects. His attitude towards those objects changes radically after he has three bad dreams. In the dreams, he sees how other people suffer and even die in order to obtain and create the objects for him. The story has strong moralistic and religious overtones.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bookstream Audiobooks
• Release date: Jan 12, 2021
• ISBN: 9783990869796

Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) was a Dublin-born poet and playwright who studied at the Portora Royal School, before attending Trinity College and Magdalen College, Oxford. The son of two writers, Wilde grew up in an intellectual environment. As a young man, his poetry appeared in various periodicals including Dublin University Magazine. In 1881, he published his first book Poems, an expansive collection of his earlier works. His only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, was released in 1890 followed by the acclaimed plays Lady Windermere’s Fan (1893) and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895).