![]() Upon publication, Dorian was condemned as dangerous, poisonous, stupid, vulgar, and immoral, and Wilde as a driveling pedant.” The novel, in fact, was used against Wilde at his much-publicized trials for gross indecency,” which led to his imprisonment and exile on the European continent. The ever-quotable Wilde, who once delighted London with his scintillating plays, scandalized readers with this, his only novel. Laced with bon mots and vivid depictions of upper-class refinement, it is also a fascinating look at the milieu of Wilde’s fin-de-siècle world and a manifesto of the creed ∺rt for Art’s Sake.” ![]() Taking the reader in and out of London drawing rooms, to the heights of aestheticism, and to the depths of decadence, The Picture of Dorian Gray is not only a melodrama about moral corruption. ![]() ![]() This dandy, who remains forever unchanged petulant, hedonistic, vain, and amoral while a painting of him ages and grows increasingly hideous with the years, has been horrifying, enchanting, obsessing, even corrupting readers for more than a hundred years. Oscar Wilde brings his enormous gifts for astute social observation and sparkling prose to The Picture of Dorian Gray, his dreamlike story of a young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty. ![]()
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