An extraordinary political essay by Oscar Wilde with an introduction by the Italian historian Giuseppe Giliberti The essay we propose in this new edition was first published by Oscar Wilde in 1891, in the Fortnightly Review, under the title The Soul of Man Under Socialism. It was then republished in book form, privately printed in a few dozen copies, in 1895 with a shorter title: The Soul of Man. Those who see the author as a brilliant but frivolous dandy will indeed be surprised by a relatively little-known aspect of his personality: his political commitment. Of course, to consider Oscar Wilde a leading figure of Victorian socialism would be a gross exaggeration. But the fact is that he considered himself to be a socialist and did not hesitate to publicly manifest his libertarian commitment.