The Picture of Dorian Gray

The Picture of Dorian Gray

The story was first published in 1890 in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine
Author	Oscar Wilde
Language	English
Genre	Philosophical fiction, Gothic fiction, decadent literature
Published	1890 Lippincott's Monthly Magazine
Publication place	United Kingdom
Media type	Print
OCLC	53071567
Dewey Decimal	823.8
LC Class	PR5819.A2
Text	The Picture of Dorian Gray at Wikisource

The Picture of Dorian Gray is an 1890 philosophical fiction and Gothic horror novel by Irish writer Oscar Wilde. A shorter novella-length version was published in the July 1890 issue of the American periodical Lippincott's Monthly Magazine,^[1][2] while the novel-length version was published in April 1891. Wilde's only novel, it is widely regarded as a classic of Gothic literature, having been adapted for screen, stage, plays, and other forms of art performance.

The story revolves around a portrait of Dorian Gray painted by Basil Hallward, a friend of Dorian's and an artist infatuated with Dorian's beauty. Through Basil, Dorian meets Lord Henry Wotton and is soon enthralled by the aristocrat's hedonistic worldview: that beauty and sensual fulfilment are the only things worth pursuing in life. Knowing that he will lose his beauty with time, Dorian impulsively chooses to sell his soul and asks for the portrait, rather than himself, to age and fade. His wish granted, Dorian pursues a libertine life of varied immoral experiences while staying young and beautiful; all the while, his portrait ages and visually records every one of Dorian's sins.^[3] The book was initially subjected to much controversy and criticism in its time. Since then, it has come to be recognised as Wilde's best-known publication.