Clara’s Verdict
Oscar Wilde could dissect human vanity with the precision of a surgeon and the lightness of a conjuror, and nowhere is this more apparent than in “The Remarkable Rocket.” At just twenty-eight minutes, this audiobook is a minor gem – the kind of thing you can slip into a lunch break and emerge from slightly wiser about the nature of self-importance. Abigail Reno’s narration gives Wilde’s pompous Rocket a perfectly pitched grandeur, and the whole experience is quietly delightful. Do not be put off by the brevity.
About the audiobook
First published in 1888 as part of The Happy Prince and Other Tales – an anthology that also includes “The Nightingale and the Rose,” “The Selfish Giant,” and “The Devoted Friend” – “The Remarkable Rocket” follows a firework who considers himself an unappreciated genius. At a royal wedding, surrounded by other fireworks, a frog, a dragonfly, and a duck, the Rocket holds forth with magnificent self-regard, criticising all around him for failing to pay him sufficient attention.
The satire is razor-sharp. The Rocket is convinced he is destined for greatness, yet he conspicuously fails to fulfil his one actual function: rising into the air and entertaining people. Wilde’s targets are obvious – the self-mythologising aesthete, the aristocrat who mistakes status for worth – but the fable retains its sting because its type is perennial. The story’s brevity is a feature, not a limitation; Wilde says everything he needs to say and no more.
This edition comes with accompanying reference material available in the Audible library alongside the audio.
The narration
Abigail Reno narrates with a dry wit that suits Wilde’s material perfectly. She captures the Rocket’s imperious self-regard without tipping into caricature, letting the comedy breathe. At twenty-eight minutes, there is not much room for error, and Reno makes every moment count. The production by Strelbytskyy Multimedia Publishing is clean and unobtrusive.
What readers say
Reviews for this edition are limited – it holds a rating of 4.1 from 16 listeners – but the enthusiasm is genuine. One UK reviewer called it good value and praised the quality of the accompanying hardback edition. The audience here is broad: this is Wilde at his most accessible, suitable for listeners entirely new to his work.
Who should listen?
This is ideal for anyone who wants a quick, elegant dose of Victorian wit – students encountering Wilde for the first time, commuters with half an hour to spare, or parents looking for something to share with older children. It pairs naturally with the other tales in the original anthology. Those who enjoy the social satire of Wilde’s longer works – the plays, the essays – will find “The Remarkable Rocket” a neat distillation of his core preoccupations. A short, sharp pleasure.
