The Picture Of Dorin Gray - Oscar Wilde - EBook

The Picture of Dorian Gray — Oscar Wilde Patina Paperbacks Edition — with Introduction, Reading Guide, Discussion Questions & Original Illustrations

When this novel was published in 1890, critics called it poisonous. A prosecutor read it aloud at trial as evidence of its author's immorality. Oscar Wilde was sentenced to two years hard labour. The book has never gone out of print.

Dorian Gray is young, beautiful, and about to make a bargain he doesn't fully understand. Under the influence of the brilliant, cynical Lord Henry Wotton, he wishes that his portrait would age in his place — and somehow, impossibly, it does. He remains untouched while the canvas records every sin, every cruelty, every act of corruption in his face. He ruins a young actress who loves him. He destroys others with equal indifference. He drifts through opium dens and society drawing rooms, growing colder and more beautiful as the portrait grows more monstrous.

Wilde's only novel is one of the most quotable books in the English language — Lord Henry's epigrams have been repeated so often that people who have never read the novel know his lines. But beneath the dazzling surface is a genuine tragedy: a man who chooses beauty over truth and discovers too late that he has chosen nothing at all.

Published in 1891. Written by a man who knew exactly what he was describing.

This Patina Paperbacks edition includes:

• An original introduction exploring Wilde's life, the scandal the novel caused, and why it was used against him at trial
• 20 discussion questions across six themes — perfect for book clubs and classroom use
• A curated further reading list including the French novel that inspired it
• A detailed biography of Oscar Wilde
• 4 original illustrations in Victorian woodcut style — exclusive to this edition

The only illustrated Patina edition of Dorian Gray, with original Victorian-style artwork exclusive to Patina Paperbacks.

Perfect for readers of: Bram Stoker, Robert Louis Stevenson, Henry James, dark academia, gothic fiction, queer classics, and decadent literature.