The Picture of Dorian Gray

Oscar Wilde

Aug 2006 · Penguin UK

About this ebook

'A triumph of execution ... one of the best narratives of the "double life" of a Victorian gentleman' Peter Ackroyd

Oscar Wilde's alluring novel of decadence and sin was a succès de scandale on publication. It follows Dorian Gray who, enthralled by his own exquisite portrait, exchanges his soul for eternal youth and beauty. Influenced by his friend Lord Henry Wotton, he is drawn into a corrupt double life, indulging his desires in secret while remaining a gentleman in the eyes of polite society. Only his portrait bears the traces of his depravity. This definitive edition includes a selection of contemporary reviews condemning the novel's immorality.

Edited with an Introduction and notes by ROBERT MIGHALL

Ratings and reviews

You got Dorian, his personality is inexistent. basil the painter, frail and always complaining. Henry who is too woke and bores you with his rambling. plot is an after thought. gained nothing from this. this book is praised because it's the first of it's kind for the Caucasian man. not because it deserves it.

The book was the most boring thing I have ever read. I only finished it because I needed to.( school purposes ) Anyways...Trust you me watch the movie.

One of my favorite books, it's a quick read that keeps you coming back

About the author

Born in Ireland, Wilde (1854-1900) was educated in Dublin and Oxford and became the leading exponent of aestheticism. His work includes plays, a novel, poetry and criticism. Imprisoned for homosexual acts, he died after his release in exile in Paris.
Robert Mighall has written on Gothic fiction and is the editor of Stevenson's Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde for Penguin Classics. Peter Ackroyd is a best-selling writer whose recent work includes biographies on Dickens and Blake.