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The Picture Of Dorian Grey

By Oscar Wilde, Susan Beattie (Editor)

(1709)

| Paperback | 9781463703530

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Book Description

The Picture of Dorian Gray is the only published novel by Oscar Wilde, appearing as the lead story in Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine on 20 June 1890, printed as the July 1890 issue of this magazine. Wilde later revised this edition, making several alterations, and adding new chapters; the amended version was published by Ward, Lock, and Company in April 1891. The title is sometimes rendered incorrectly as The Portrait of Dorian Gray. The novel tells of a young man named Dorian Gray, the subject of a painting by artist Basil Hallward. Basil is impressed by Dorian’s beauty and becomes infatuated with him, believing his beauty is responsible for a new mode in his art. Dorian meets Lord Henry Wotton, a friend of Basil’s, and becomes enthralled by Lord Henry’s world view. Espousing a new hedonism, Lord Henry suggests the only things worth pursuing in life are beauty and fulfillment of the senses. Realizing that one day his beauty will fade, Dorian (whimsically) expresses a desire to sell his soul to ensure the portrait Basil has painted would age rather than himself. Dorian’s wish is fulfilled, plunging him into debauched acts. The portrait serves as a reminder of the effect each act has upon his soul, with each sin displayed as a disfigurement of his form, or through a sign of aging. The Picture of Dorian Gray is considered a work of classic gothic fiction with a strong Faustian theme. Sample text: Chapter 1 The studio was filled with the rich odour of roses, and when the light summer wind stirred amidst the trees of the garden, there came through the open door the heavy scent of the lilac, or the more delicate perfume of the pink-flowering thorn. From the corner of the divan of Persian saddle-bags on which he was lying, smoking, as was his custom, innumerable cigarettes, Lord Henry Wotton could just catch the gleam of the honey-sweet and honey-coloured blossoms of a laburnum, whose tremulous branches seemed hardly able to bear the burden of a beauty so flamelike as theirs; and now and then the fantastic shadows of birds in flight flitted across the long tussore-silk curtains that were stretched in front of the huge window, producing a kind of momentary Japanese effect, and making him think of those pallid, jade-faced painters of Tokyo who, through the medium of an art that is necessarily immobile, seek to convey the sense of swiftness and motion. The sullen murmur of the bees shouldering their way through the long unmown grass, or circling with monotonous insistence round the dusty gilt horns of the straggling woodbine, seemed to make the stillness more oppressive. The dim roar of London was like the bourdon note of a distant organ...

47 Reviews

5 people find this helpful

When I was 16, if you didn't read Oscar Wilde and love The Smiths I wouldn't acknowledge your existence.
Well, I think I've grown out of that now somewhat. Morrissey's star has kinda fizzled after releasing some truly awful shit in the 90s, although his last couple albums were pretty decent. B ... (continue)

When I was 16, if you didn't read Oscar Wilde and love The Smiths I wouldn't acknowledge your existence.
Well, I think I've grown out of that now somewhat. Morrissey's star has kinda fizzled after releasing some truly awful shit in the 90s, although his last couple albums were pretty decent. But yeah, if you don't like this book, I still won't talk to you.

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Danelectrico said on Dec 6, 2007 about the Mass Market Paperback edition | Add your feedback

4 people find this helpful

The reason why I love novels

Melancholic, romantic, spooky - classic Oscar Wilde.

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s tsui said on Mar 3, 2006 about the Mass Market Paperback edition | Add your feedback

3 people find this helpful

When I first read The Picture of Dorian Gray, I was fascinated and mesmerised. I read it again a few years later. And this is my 3rd time. Read it in two days and couldn't put it down. Filled with epigrams, it is an epigram in itself. A masterpiece of chilling and evil.

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Lunarossa said on Sep 11, 2009 about the Others edition | Add your feedback

Fantastic

I would have to re-read this 4 or 5 times to understand and gather all the quotes. Definitely worth a read to gather perspective and to look at the paradox of ideals. I do not agree with the few truths that ultimately end the book: death and vulgarity or ugliness. Although it is hard to argue that ... (continue)

I would have to re-read this 4 or 5 times to understand and gather all the quotes. Definitely worth a read to gather perspective and to look at the paradox of ideals. I do not agree with the few truths that ultimately end the book: death and vulgarity or ugliness. Although it is hard to argue that death is not a constant, it may not be a truth or ideal.

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Andy said on Apr 25, 2012 | Add your feedback

"The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it"

Criticism towards Victorian Age morality and English society of the period, meditations about the weight of the past and on the role of conscience: these are the main themes I found in this fascinating book. I read it right after "The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" and I had the feeling th ... (continue)

Criticism towards Victorian Age morality and English society of the period, meditations about the weight of the past and on the role of conscience: these are the main themes I found in this fascinating book. I read it right after "The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" and I had the feeling that while Stevenson was the typical 19th century British writer, Wilde offers more than one glimpse of 1900's.
The only downside that caused my four star note is the lack of pace of the middle chapters. In particular, I found most of chapter XI redundant and quite tedious.

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BlueBilly said on Mar 1, 2012 about the Mass Market Paperback edition | Add your feedback

I just don’t understand how some people can live without having read ‘The Picture of Dorian
Gray’ at least once in their life. This is simply one of the most charming,
interesting, captivating, enjoyable and meaningful books I’ve ever read.
We all know the story: Basil Hallward, a painter, portra ... (continue)

I just don’t understand how some people can live without having read ‘The Picture of Dorian
Gray’ at least once in their life. This is simply one of the most charming,
interesting, captivating, enjoyable and meaningful books I’ve ever read.
We all know the story: Basil Hallward, a painter, portraits Dorian Gray, a beautiful and
young man. A friend of Basil’s, Lord Henry, who is going to influence Dorian a
lot, makes him conscious of his beauty and youth by making him look at his own
portrait. Dorian understands that beauty and youth are precious but fleeting,
so he wishes to be young and handsome forever and that his portrait pays for
his old-age and sins. “I would give my soul” he says. This will sign (and ruin)
his life forever. His portrait starts changing while Dorian stays the same, and
leads an immoral and dissipated life, until he realises… but then it’s too late.
We can all understand Dorian’s craving for beauty and youth, and what he does truly
fascinates and scares us at the same time.
The characters, not many but very well portrayed by Wilde, are charming and influential
personalities, especially Lord Henry, whose opinions are completely opposite to
the common sense and are consequently fascinating and enjoyable. He is probably
my favourite character.
What else shall I say? This is definitely a MUST-READ.

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MoonyBen said on Sep 30, 2011 about the Mass Market Paperback edition | Add your feedback