L'Importance d'être constant

Name: L'Importance d'être constant
Author: Oscar Wilde

Titre anglais: The Importance of Being Earnest

par Oscar Wilde · lecture graduée

6 chapitres
20 533 mots
environ 158 min

Jack Worthing s'appelle Ernest en ville et Jack à la campagne. Son ami Algernon invente un ami malade, Bunbury, afin de pouvoir échapper à des dîners ennuyeux. Lorsque les deux jeunes hommes tombent amoureux, et que les deux femmes insistent pour qu'elles ne pourraient aimer qu'un homme nommé Ernest, leurs mensonges commencent à se heurter de la manière la plus amusante possible.

Écouter en lisant BientôtUne lecture à voix haute qui surligne chaque phrase.

Lire le débutLe livre entier sera disponible à l’ouverture d’EnglishReads. Le livre est en anglais.

Lire le début

The morning-room of Algernon Moncrieff's flat in Half-Moon Street was luxuriously and artistically furnished. From the next room came the sound of a piano. Lane, the manservant, was arranging afternoon tea on the table. When the music stopped, Algernon came in.

"Did you hear what I was playing, Lane?"

"I didn't think it polite to listen, sir."

"I'm sorry for that, for your sake. I don't play accurately. Any one can play accurately. But I play with wonderful expression. As far as the piano is concerned, sentiment is my forte. I keep science for Life."

"Yes, sir."

"And, speaking of the science of Life, have you got the cucumber sandwiches cut for Lady Bracknell?"

Lane handed them to him on a silver tray. "Yes, sir."

Algernon inspected them, took two, and sat down on the sofa. "Oh! By the way, Lane, I see from your book that on Thursday night, when Lord Shoreman and Mr. Worthing were dining with me, eight bottles of champagne are entered as having been consumed."