num_pages: 195
description: Since its first publication in 1890, Oscar Wilde's only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, 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. After having his portrait painted, Dorian Gray is captivated by his own beauty. Tempted by his world-weary friend, the decadent Lord Henry Wotton, he wished to stay young forever and pledges his very soul to keep his good looks. 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.Set in fin-de-siécle London, the novel traces a path from the studio of painter Basil Howard to the opium dens of the East End. The text of this edition is derived from the Oxford English Texts , which prints a critically established version of the first book edition of 1891. Also included is a new, fuller introduction, which considers the difference between the 1890 and 1891 texts, Wilde's range of sources, significant critical approaches to the novel and its reputation since 1891, full explanatory notes that identify Wilde's sources, and an up-to-date-bibliography.
language: English
title: The Picture of Dorian Gray
titlecomplete: The Picture of Dorian Gray
characters: Lord Henry Wotton, Alan Campbell, Adrian Singleton, Lady Narborough, Duchess of Monmouth, Dorian Gray, Henry Ashton, Lord Staveley, Lady Gwendolen, Lady Victoria Wotton, Basil Hallward, Sibyl Vane, James Vane
genres: Classics, LGBT, Fantasy, Gothic, Novels, Audiobook, Literature, 19th Century, Fiction, Horror
ratings_count: 1437097
places: London, England, England
publisher: Oxford University Press