The Picture of Dorian Gray (AmazonClassics Edition)

In the wealthy and vain hedonist Dorian Gray, London painter Basil Hallward has found his muse. Only when the portrait of Dorian begins to age, while the man himself remains untouched by time, do they realize they may have made a deal with the devil.

Oscar Wilde’s only novel takes a witty, philosophical, and harrowing look at our obsession with youth and the price we pay for it.

Revised edition: Previously published as The Picture of Dorian Gray, this edition of The Picture of Dorian Gray (AmazonClassics Edition) includes editorial revisions.

Dublin-born Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) is known for his satirical comedies of manners. He received honors at Trinity College and Oxford and managed an English magazine before publishing poetry, short stories, plays, and essays. His only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, was published in 1891. Banned, censored, and excoriated in the press, the novel’s flirtation with aestheticism was considered dangerous, decadent, and immoral―accusations that would haunt Wilde in his personal life as well.

In 1892, Wilde’s first play, Lady Windermere’s Fan, opened to widespread acclaim; it was followed by A Woman of No Importance, Salome, An Ideal Husband, and The Importance of Being Earnest. The influence of Oscar Wilde―one of the most celebrated, controversial, and unconventional writers of the nineteenth century―is felt to this day.