Oscar Wilde was born in Dublin, Ireland, and later studied at Oxford University before moving to London. After delivering lectures across America and England, Wilde became an editor of Lady’s World Magazine in 1885. During this time, he also married and fathered two children with Constance Lloyd, a wealthy Englishwoman. Shortly after their marriage, Wilde would produce his most recognized works, including his well-known novel The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890). At the time of its publication, it was widely criticized as immoral because the protagonist pursued pleasure at any price.

In the novel’s preface, Wilde argued for the aesthetic value of such a work. This was in keeping with Wilde’s broader philosophy of aestheticism. During his time in London, before he was imprisoned for his relationships with other men and then exiled to France, Wilde became one of the founders of this movement, creating work that privileged craft while simultaneously critiquing Victorian morals—something evident in An Ideal Husband, which uses wit and satire to reveal the hypocrisy of Victorian high society.