Description
The only novel Wilde ever wrote — and one of literature’s most seductive nightmares. The Picture of Dorian Gray follows the beautiful young Dorian, whose portrait — painted by the devoted Basil Hallward — begins to age and corrupt in his place after a fateful wish: that he might stay young forever while the picture bears time’s burden.
Under the spell of the dazzling, amoral Lord Henry Wotton, Dorian embarks on a life of pleasure without conscience: cruelty to the actress Sibyl Vane, descent into London’s opium dens, and finally the murder of Basil himself — each sin marking not Dorian’s flawless face but the hidden portrait locked in the attic, growing ever more hideous.
First published in 1890 and immediately controversial, Wilde’s gothic masterpiece is a glittering meditation on beauty, youth, influence, and the soul — sparkling with his famous wit, shadowed by Victorian moral reckoning. Chilling, elegant, endlessly quotable: essential for lovers of classic literature and gothic fiction.
Oscar Wilde’s only novel remains one of literature’s most seductive cautionary tales. The Picture of Dorian Gray follows the beautiful young Dorian Gray, whose portrait — painted by the devoted artist Basil Hallward — begins to age and corrupt in his place after Dorian utters a fateful wish: that he might stay young forever while the picture bears the burden of time.
Under the spell of the dazzling, amoral Lord Henry Wotton, Dorian embarks on a life of pleasure without conscience. His cruelty to the actress Sibyl Vane, his descent into London’s opium dens, and finally his murder of Basil himself — each sin leaves its mark not on Dorian’s flawless face but on the hidden portrait locked in the attic, growing ever more hideous.
First published in 1890 and immediately controversial, Wilde’s gothic masterpiece is a glittering meditation on beauty, youth, influence, and the soul — sparkling with the wit for which its author was famous, and shadowed by the moral reckoning Victorian society demanded.
Chilling, elegant, and endlessly quotable, The Picture of Dorian Gray is essential reading for lovers of classic literature and gothic fiction alike. What price would you pay to stay young forever?
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