The Picture of Dorian Gray (paperback) Oscar Wilde

If I were I who was to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old...I would give my soul for that! The wish uttered by Dorian Gray as he gazes on his portrait forms the basis of the plot of this brilliant and disturbing story of a gilded and spoil hedonist who, Faust-like, is willing to sell his soul for his beauty. First published to scandalize protest in 1890, Oscar Wilde's fantastic melodrama was widely condemned by his contemporaries as an affront to the value of polite society. It has since become one of the most celebrated works, a brilliant example of his power as a storyteller and of his flamboyant wit and aestheticism.

December 2022