Lady Windermere’s Fan: A Play About a Good Woman by Oscar Wilde is a play in four acts about a marriage teetering on the edge of destruction and the drama that surrounds the family while they seek resolution. This play was Wilde’s first foray into comedies, and was his first successful play that would earn a profit from its performances.
The play follows the young Lady Windermere as she begins to believe that her husband is having an affair. Her husband insists that he is remaining true to her, and—in a misguided attempt to ease Lady Windermere’s suspicions—invites his supposed mistress to her birthday party. This inciting incident causes the marriage to struggle, and drama ensues through the rest of the play. This comedic tale has fascinating characters, a twist ending, and Oscar Wilde’s signature humor.