Published in 1899, An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde was first presented on stage in 1895. It is a social comedy that satirizes the hypocritical attitudes of people. Revolving around corruption and blackmail, the theme of the play is that there are no completely pure and pious people. Everyone commits mistakes and to pretend that one has not is an outright falsehood. The play became an instant success, like most of Wilde's other plays.