Oscar Wilde Picture of Dorian Gray

Annotation

Published just before he reached the height of his fame, Wilde's only novel has endured as surely as the great plays for which he is celebrated. By exploring the actions of a young man who contracts to retain his outward beauty at the expense of inward corruption - symbolized in a portrait that ages as he stays the same - Wilde achieved a seminal novel that is part fable, part comedy of manners and part treatise on the nature of art and beauty. As the figure in Dorian's portrait changes to reflect Dorian's inner decay, the stage is set for a masterful tale about appearance, reality and the ultimate burden of conscience. A lasting classic of sophisticated wit and playfulness, "The Picture of Dorian Gray" assembles all the elements of Oscar Wilde's wide-ranging talents in a compelling reinterpretation of the Faustian myth.