Oscar Wilde is Appointed Editor of 'The Lady's World'

His flair, having previously only been put into socialising, suited journalism and did not go unnoticed.

With his youth nearly over, and a family to support, in mid-1887 Wilde became the editor of The Lady's World magazine, his name prominently appearing on the cover. He promptly renamed it The Woman's World and raised its tone, adding serious articles on parenting, culture, and politics, keeping discussions of fashion and arts. Two pieces of fiction were usually included, one to be read to children, the other for the ladies themselves. Wilde used his wide artistic acquaintance to solicit good contributions, including those of Lady Wilde and his wife Constance, while his own "Literary and Other Notes" were themselves popular and amusing.

Early in his career he served as editor for Woman’s World, originally titled Ladies’ World. Wilde said of the journal that it “seems to me to have been a very vulgar, trivial and stupid production, with its silly gossip about silly people, and its social inanities.” But Wilde hoped to achieve loftier goals with the magazine, subverting its existing purpose. As he conceived it, Woman’s World would, “be made the organized organ for the expression of woman’s opinions on all subjects of literature, art, and modern life, and yet it should be a magazine that men could read with pleasure, and consider it a privilege to contribute to.” Here Wilde hints at the method he will adopt for Earnest, taking something “trivial” (a women’s fashion magazine) and using it as a platform for a lesson in civics (the education of women).