The Picture of Dorian Gray

by Oscar Wilde

Joseph Bristow (Editor)

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

When Dorian Gray has his portrait painted, he is captivated by his own beauty. Tempted by his world-weary, decadent friend Lord Henry Wotton, he wishes to stay forever young, and pledges his very soul to keep his good looks. Set in fin-de-siécle London, the novel traces a path from the studio of painter Basil Hallward to the opium dens of the East End. As Dorian's slide into crime and cruelty progresses he stays magically youthful, while his beautiful portrait changes, revealing the hideous corruption of moral decay.

Ever since its first publication in 1890 Wilde's only novel has remained the subject of critical controversy. Acclaimed by some as an instructive moral tale, it has been denounced by others for its implicit immorality. Combining elements of the supernatural, aestheticism, and the Gothic, The Picture of Dorian Gray is an unclassifiable and uniquely unsettling work of fiction.
ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

• ISBN10: 0199535981
• ISBN13: 9780199535989
• Publish Date: 17 April 2008 (first published 1 January 1890)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Oxford University Press
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 272
• Language: English

Reviews

[Inkslinger]

I absolutely loved this story. Dorian was awful and fascinating and deliciously dark!

[Quirky Cat]

Review to follow.

[nightingalereads]

Beautiful writing, with unbelievably exquisite descriptions. But I hated almost every character by the end. (Except poor Basil.)

[celinenyx]

It has been over two years since I last read The Picture of Dorian Gray, yet it has not lost any of its luster in the meantime. The story of the young, vain, and impressionable Dorian Gray and his corruption at the hands of Lord Henry is fascinating still.

Here are some of my favourite quotes:

When I like people immensely, I never tell their names to any one. It is like surrendering a part of them.

Laughter is not at all a bad beginning for a friendship, and it is far the best ending for one.

I like persons better than principles, and I like persons with no principles better than anything else in the world.

But the bravest man amongst us is afraid of himself.

Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.

[bumblingbookworm]

This review was originally posted on The Bumbling Bookworm

I bought this for a book club in 2006, I tried to read it, couldn't get into it, and it has sat unread on my shelves ever since.  Finally I've read it, but unfortunately I didn't enjoy it. If I was buying a classic today, let's just say I wouldn't have picked this up.  It's clear that I'm in the minority here, as this is a beloved classic, but I think one of the problems is that I don't enjoy horror (books or movies), so I was never going to enjoy this.  

I found this book boring, and it waffled on far too much.  There were whole chunks that I read and just couldn't take in, I was so bored.  The pace and the action in the second half was better, but still not great.  Dorian Gray was reprehensible as a character, and I understand that that was the point, but I didn't enjoy reading about it.  A lot of my rating is based on enjoyment, and this book just wasn't for me.

[clq]

Well, what is there to say? A classic, and the first Wilde-book I have read. Not only is it a classic, but I had been told it was one of the classics that stands the test of time very well. I found this to be partially true. A lot of the time, especially during the first half of the book, I found myself getting a bit bored. Sure, there were a lot of thoughtful quotes, and a lot of "deep" things are said. Keeping in mind that this was written and published in the eighteen hundreds, the book must have been extremely progressive at the time, and a lot of things are said which one can only imagine would have been very controversial. However, I'm reading this book in 2012, and that is how I am judging it. Fortunately, as the story progresses, the story itself takes more of the focus, and I found myself going back to taking an interest in it. Overall the book pretty much matched my expectations, and I'd say it is well worth a read. It's entertaining enough to be worth it, and of course, when one finds onself in sophisticated, educated company one can be one of those people who say "Why, yes. Of course I've read The Picture of Dorian Gray. Who hasn't?"

[jamiereadthis]

Flamboyantly Wilde... not quite the skimming read of The Importance of Being Earnest, but great nonetheless. Fascinating to read in context of Wilde's personal history and some of its scathing literary criticism of the time, as thoroughly presented in a nice little appendix.