Happy Prince: A Tale by Oscar Wilde

The swallow meets the Happy Prince, a statue who has never experienced true sorrow, and asks him to give to the poor. The Happy Prince is stripped of his beauty and his lead heart breaks when the swallow dies. An angel takes them to heaven, where they live forever.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 48 pages
Publication date: 22 March 2018
Publisher: Thames & Hudson Ltd

In a town where poverty and misery reign supreme, a swallow, left behind after his flock's migration to Egypt for the winter, encounters a statue of the late "Happy Prince." The Happy Prince, who lived in a palace where sorrow was forbidden, is oblivious to true sorrow. Observing the suffering of the poor from his towering monument, he asks the swallow to retrieve the ruby from his hilt, the sapphires from his eyes, and the golden leaf covering his body, intending to distribute them to the destitute. As winter arrives, the Happy Prince loses his beauty, and his heart breaks when the swallow succumbs to the cold and sacrifices himself for the sake of others. The statue is then dismantled from its pillar and melted in a furnace, leaving behind a shattered heart and a lifeless swallow. These precious artifacts are retrieved by an angel and taken to heaven, where they are recognized as the most valuable possessions in the city. This divine judgment is affirmed by God, and the swallow and the Happy Prince are granted eternal life in his city of gold and garden of paradise.

Weight: 238g
Dimension: 278 x 246 x 5 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780500651551