Wilde, Oscar The Picture of Dorian Gray ISBN 13: 9780141439570

The Picture of Dorian Gray - Softcover

9780141439570: The Picture of Dorian Gray
View all copies of this ISBN edition:
 
 
An astounding novel of decadence, debauchery, and secrecy from one of Ireland's greatest writers. Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read

Enthralled by his own exquisite portrait, Dorian Gray makes a Faustian bargain to sell his soul in exchange for eternal youth and beauty. Under the influence of Lord Henry Wotton, he is drawn into a corrupt double life, where he is able to indulge his desires while remaining a gentleman in the eyes of polite society. Only Dorian's picture bears the traces of his decadence.

A knowing account of a secret life and an analysis of the darker side of late Victorian society. The Picture of Dorian Gray offers a disturbing portrait of an individual coming face to face with the reality of his soul. Shocking in its suggestion of unspeakable sin, this novel was later used as evidence against Wilde when he was tried for indecency in 1895. 

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Review:
A lush, cautionary tale of a life of vileness and deception or a loving portrait of the aesthetic impulse run rampant? Why not both? After Basil Hallward paints a beautiful, young man's portrait, his subject's frivolous wish that the picture change and he remain the same comes true. Dorian Gray's picture grows aged and corrupt while he continues to appear fresh and innocent. After he kills a young woman, "as surely as if I had cut her little throat with a knife," Dorian Gray is surprised to find no difference in his vision or surroundings. "The roses are not less lovely for all that. The birds sing just as happily in my garden."

As Hallward tries to make sense of his creation, his epigram-happy friend Lord Henry Wotton encourages Dorian in his sensual quest with any number of Wildean paradoxes, including the delightful "When we are happy we are always good, but when we are good we are not always happy." But despite its many languorous pleasures, The Picture of Dorian Gray is an imperfect work. Compared to the two (voyeuristic) older men, Dorian is a bore, and his search for ever new sensations far less fun than the novel's drawing-room discussions. Even more oddly, the moral message of the novel contradicts many of Wilde's supposed aims, not least "no artist has ethical sympathies. An ethical sympathy in an artist is an unpardonable mannerism of style." Nonetheless, the glamour boy gets his just deserts. And Wilde, defending Dorian Gray, had it both ways: "All excess, as well as all renunciation, brings its own punishment."

From the Publisher:
Oscar Wilde's only published full length novel, is the story of a man who sells his soul for eternal youth. In exchange, what does he give up and what does he gain? This novel, by Wilde is a wonderful soul-searching example of the cost of paradise, and the price of a wish.

Read by actor, comedian, novelist, journalist, screenwriter Stephen Fry, Dorian Gray's dilemma comes alive. He has also acted in a variety of films including A Fish Called Wanda, Peter's Friends, and The Wind in the Willows.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780486278070: The Picture of Dorian Gray (Dover Thrift Editions: Classic Novels)

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  ISBN 13:  9780486278070
Publisher: Dover Publications, 1993
Softcover

  • 9780141442464: The Picture of Dorian Gray (Penguin Clothbound Classics)

    Pengui..., 2009
    Hardcover

  • 9781509827831: The Picture of Dorian Gray (Macmillan Collector's Library)

    Macmil..., 2017
    Hardcover

  • 9781949982305: The Picture of Dorian Gray

    SDE Cl..., 2019
    Softcover

  • 9781548296742: The Picture of Dorian Gray

    Create..., 2017
    Softcover

Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace

Stock Image

Wilde, Oscar
Published by Penguin Classics (2003)
ISBN 10: 0141439572 ISBN 13: 9780141439570
New Softcover Quantity: > 20
Seller:
Lakeside Books
(Benton Harbor, MI, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. Brand New! Not Overstocks or Low Quality Book Club Editions! Direct From the Publisher! We're not a giant, faceless warehouse organization! We're a small town bookstore that loves books and loves it's customers! Buy from Lakeside Books!. Seller Inventory # OTF-S-9780141439570

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 5.25
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 3.99
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Seller Image

Wilde, Oscar
Published by Penguin Classics (2003)
ISBN 10: 0141439572 ISBN 13: 9780141439570
New Soft Cover Quantity: 10
Seller:
booksXpress
(Bayonne, NJ, U.S.A.)

Book Description Soft Cover. Condition: new. Seller Inventory # 9780141439570

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 9.31
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Seller Image

Wilde, Oscar
Published by Penguin Books 2/4/2003 (2003)
ISBN 10: 0141439572 ISBN 13: 9780141439570
New Paperback or Softback Quantity: 5
Seller:
BargainBookStores
(Grand Rapids, MI, U.S.A.)

Book Description Paperback or Softback. Condition: New. The Picture of Dorian Gray 0.51. Book. Seller Inventory # BBS-9780141439570

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 9.66
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Seller Image

Wilde, Oscar; Mighall, Robert
Published by Penguin Classics (2003)
ISBN 10: 0141439572 ISBN 13: 9780141439570
New Softcover Quantity: 5
Seller:
GreatBookPrices
(Columbia, MD, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # 959800-n

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 7.24
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 2.64
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Wilde, Oscar
Published by Penguin Classics (2003)
ISBN 10: 0141439572 ISBN 13: 9780141439570
New Softcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Red's Corner LLC
(Brookhaven, GA, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. All orders ship by next business day! This is a new paperback book. For USED books, we cannot guarantee supplemental materials such as CDs, DVDs, access codes and other materials. We are a small company and very thankful for your business!. Seller Inventory # 4CNO3H001KLZ

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 5.75
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.49
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Wilde, Oscar (Author); Mighall, Robert (Editor/introduction); Mighall, Robert (Notes by)
Published by Penguin Random House (2003)
ISBN 10: 0141439572 ISBN 13: 9780141439570
New Softcover Quantity: > 20
Seller:
INDOO
(Avenel, NJ, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. Brand New. Seller Inventory # 0141439572

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 6.42
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 3.99
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Wilde, Oscar
Published by Penguin Classics (2003)
ISBN 10: 0141439572 ISBN 13: 9780141439570
New Paperback Quantity: > 20
Seller:
Save With Sam
(North Miami, FL, U.S.A.)

Book Description Paperback. Condition: New. Brand New!. Seller Inventory # 0141439572

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 10.67
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Wilde, Oscar
Published by Penguin Classics (2003)
ISBN 10: 0141439572 ISBN 13: 9780141439570
New Softcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Books Unplugged
(Amherst, NY, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. Buy with confidence! Book is in new, never-used condition. Seller Inventory # bk0141439572xvz189zvxnew

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 10.97
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Oscar Wilde
Published by Penguin Books (2003)
ISBN 10: 0141439572 ISBN 13: 9780141439570
New Softcover Quantity: 4
Seller:
Books Puddle
(New York, NY, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. pp. xliii + 252. Seller Inventory # 26660561

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 7.05
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 3.99
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Wilde, Oscar
Published by Penguin Classics (2003)
ISBN 10: 0141439572 ISBN 13: 9780141439570
New Paperback Quantity: 1
Seller:
Textbooks_Source
(Columbia, MO, U.S.A.)

Book Description Paperback. Condition: New. Revised. Ships in a BOX from Central Missouri! UPS shipping for most packages, (Priority Mail for AK/HI/APO/PO Boxes). Seller Inventory # 000050512N

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 7.62
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 3.99
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds

There are more copies of this book

View all search results for this book