The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Picture of Dorian Gray is a philosophical novel by Oscar Wilde. A shorter novella-length version was published in the July 1890 issue of the American periodical Lippincott's Monthly Magazine. The novel-length version was published in April 1891.
The story revolves around a portrait of Dorian Gray painted by Basil Hallward, a friend of Dorian's and an artist infatuated with Dorian's beauty. Through Basil, Dorian meets Lord Henry Wotton and is soon enthralled by the aristocrat's hedonistic worldview: that beauty and sensual fulfillment are the only things worth pursuing in life. Newly understanding that his beauty will fade, Dorian expresses the desire to sell his soul, to ensure that the picture, rather than he, will age and fade. The wish is granted, and Dorian pursues a libertine life of varied amoral experiences while staying young and beautiful; all the while, his portrait ages and visually records every one of Dorian's sins.
Wilde's only novel, it was subject to much controversy and criticism in its time. In the 30 June 1890 issue of the Daily Chronicle, the book critic said that Wilde's novel contains "one element ... which will taint every young mind that comes in contact with it." In the 5 July 1890 issue of the Scots Observer, a reviewer asked "Why must Oscar Wilde 'go grubbing in muck-heaps?'" The book critic of The Irish Times said, The Picture of Dorian Gray was "first published to some scandal." Such book reviews achieved for the novel a "certain notoriety for being 'mawkish and nauseous', 'unclean', 'effeminate' and 'contaminating'." Such moralistic scandal arose from the novel's homoeroticism, which offended the sensibilities of Victorian book critics.
Now the book has come to be recognized as a classic of gothic literature. In a 2009 review, critic Robin McKie considers the novel to be technically mediocre, saying that the conceit of the plot guaranteed its fame, but the device is never pushed to its full. On the other hand, in March 2014, Robert McCrum of The Guardian listed it among the 100 best novels ever written in English, calling it "an arresting, and slightly camp, exercise in late-Victorian gothic".
Excerpted from The Picture of Dorian Gray on Wikipedia
The Picture of Dorian Gray
| Author | Oscar Wilde |
| Country | Ireland |
| Genre | Philosophical fiction, Gothic Fiction, Horror, Decadent literature |
| Copyright | Public domain worldwide. |
| Book cover | Image: Drapé | wikimedia |
| Ebooks | Project Gutenberg. |
| Scans | Google-digitized. |
| Audio | Librivox | Internet Archive Reader: Isabella Garcia 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 |
| Read online | The Picture of Dorian Gray |