The Picture of Dorian Gray Great Illustrated Classics

by Fern Siegel (Adapter), Oscar Wilde (Source Material)

Forever Young, Forever Evil! Dorian Gray is an incredibly handsome young man, rich and favored, with everything to live for. But bad companions encourage the worst in him, and in a reckless moment, Dorian makes an impossible wish - to stay young forever, as unchanging as the wonderful portrait that has just been painted of him. But the portrait does change, in the most frightening, incredible ways. All of Dorian's deeds become etched on the picture. As he goes from evil to evil, the portrait becomes a hideous reflection of all that is worst in him. Dorian tries to repent - but can he?

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Childrens, Horror, Literature, Novels, Supernatural

239 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1890

Reviews

[Bobby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe it's me that's wrong, but does anyone on goodreads realize that this is the "Great Illustrated Classics" version of the book?

It's abridged for children with 16pt type and a picture on every other page. No sexual themes or adult-ish content.

An adult could probably finish it in a day. That's why it's the only version worth reading!

[Hanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75⭐️
overall a great book but i was just kinda bored while reading chapter 11 because it was so random.

[kanishk · Rating 5 out of 5]

didn't get many undertones and layers of this book until years after reading it but it was a good read regardless.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting story! I really enjoyed it. I actually started reading the original text by Oscar Wilde, but found it way too wordy long-winded, so I picked up this abridged version from the children's department of my library. It was a much easier read which made it much nicer to read (something I have never felt before!). I enjoyed how the new author went right to the point of the story, though, being a children's book, the text was a bit TOO simple. Perhaps I'll search other editions for a good compromise between the two extremes. Nevertheless, it was a great book with a lot to say about art, desire, and morality.

[Benjamin Spurlock · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to admit, I have a soft spot for this story. Dorian Gray is a character with quite a bit of pathos, and the way the character changes is fascinating to me. Now, of course, knowing more about Oscar Wilde and his life's story, that pathos grows even greater.

[Jeff B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had read the original The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde about three years ago and really liked it (review here). I wanted to re-read it, but decided to give this 'Illustrated Classic' version a chance. It's pretty great, actually.

This version is abridged and slightly reworded to make it more modern and accessible. There are also line drawings throughout. While I loved the original, I wasn't always a fan of the 19th century flowery prose. This version doesn't have that flowery prose, but we also loose some of those witty lines by Oscar Wilde (though many remain). I was afraid that since this might be marketed to a younger audience, it might be too sanitized, but it kept it's dark edge. The suicides, murder, drug use, and even the vague 'book of sin' remained. In fact, there's nothing that I still remember from reading the original that was cut.

It's also a much quicker read. You could easily read it in a day though I read it over three days. I plan to read a lot more of these 'Illustrated Classics'. It was fun, it was clear, and I thoroughly enjoyed it - but I'm no purist.

[Alecia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had heard this title before, but I just always assumed it was some Victorian era romance novel from some posh British author which didn't really appeal to me. However, I came across a description of the book in The Big Book of Monsters by Hal Johnson, and I was intrigued.

Thus, one day at the library in the children's department when my children were busy reading on bean bag chairs of playing with the toys, I saw this copy of the book and decided to start reading it.

I ended up putting it down for weeks after reading just two chapters, but yesterday I read all of it in one day, and I loved it. It is like something out of the twilight zone, and there is definitely some depth with respect to character development, plot twists and moral lessons.

I would be curious to see what the original text is like, but I'm kind of glad I read this condensed version; it was a quick read, and I actually loved the pictures on each page that kind of brought the story to life and helped me to visualize things, especially Dorian's changing portrait.

A very fun read and not at all the mushy love story that I had once imagined it to be.

[Christa Temple · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am giving this a 4 because it is one of my favourite works and the story is at least a ten, but for this version, I am on page 16 and I almost completely hate it. I was excited to see this on a rack of free books at my library, and even though I already own 3 or 4 copies I will take every version of this story I can get my hands on. However, I might have to read the uncensored version after to wash the bad taste out of my mouth. If you are looking at this having never read the story, please find a copy of the book as it was originally written.

[Tori Zeiters · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oscar wilde was a waxing poetic about bueaty and the conspiracies of life. it was honestly refreshing to see a man go mad with ones self reflection, with it literally being reflected in your face. I will say it was written in the 1800s by a repressed gay man so there were parts of it that did seem to drag on a bit and the comments about women were a bit meh. but it was still a great classical work non the less.

[Taniesha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Classic novel selected by book club - I've never read a classic that was not a required read. This one was not bad it had some pretty good moral / value / life lessons and made for a good discussion. This was the simplified version - thank goodness - because the original one I first tried was so wordy and had "old language". I struggled so I switched to this and was much happier with it.

[megz · Rating 3 out of 5]

To think I didn't know it was an abridged children's version and was like huh? Is this supposed to be THAT good? But still, I think the themes are very interesting, and although everything was too simple and fast, I'm glad it's the children's version. Definitely going to read the original and see if I like that one more.

[Brent Ecenbarger · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was one that our 8 year old really got into, less so with the six year old. It definitely had some of the most grown up subject matter, like opium dens, murder, suicide, and blackmail. The ending really captured both kids attention and paid off the story nicely. I'm glad it's the only Oscar Wilde book in the series.

[Isabella · Rating 4 out of 5]

I chose to read the abridged version so that I could actually finish it- however it seemed a bit TOO simple. I think I’ll eventually get around to the full version now that I know what the hype is about.

[Cynthia Gutzwiller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remembered this book totally wrong. It pays to reread Classics again. They are entertaining and it will improve your memory.
Dorian Gray made one statement when he was young that changed his entire life. Be careful what you say, it may come back to haunt you when you see it!

[Caspar Vega · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this series as a kid.

[Wendy]

Good book

[Harish P · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love anything from Great Illustrated Classics series.

[Sofía · Rating 5 out of 5]

El retrato de Dorian Gray nunca me cansaré de leerlo, se ha convertido en uno de mis libros preferidos ✨✨

[Tina Wiebe]

Gonna have to read the original version before I could rate it

[Macey Elizabeth Thornburg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. I love the Picture of Dorian Gray so much. It was such a beautiful story!

[Damian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was splendidly dark and revealing about the sinful nature of man. I found this book didn't have much suspense but kept me wanting to know more about how the picture would destroy this once innocent man. I am an extreme fan of the "Great Illustrated Classics" series and was delighted to find a book I was actually looking for there. I will be doing reviews of more "Great Illustrated Classics" books soon but I am currently on the look for a new book so it may be awhile...

[DOLLY · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first truly favorite book. Read this back when I was 12 or 13 - such a chilling story. Creeped me out so much, I could only read the book in the living-room when my parents were around. Thinking back, what really enticed me was how it appealed to my inner narcissist. Because what is a teenager, other than a self-absorbed drama queen - me to a tee. -_-

[Grimy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The version I read wasn't illustrated. It's a good book, expect all of Wilde's famous phrases to be included herein.

[Karla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I couldn't find the original version of this at my library (this is adapted for Great Illustrated Classics). A great story, I will have to find and read the real version someday.

[Casey · Rating 3 out of 5]

We read a part of this in class.

[DavidO · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half is pretty good, but the second half gets redundant.

[Margie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great classic, I believe. It was as much an accurate social critique when it was published as it is now. I was sad, though, that Dorian never learned his lesson.

[inês komakino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably my favourite book.

[Ilana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Illustrated Classics is an amazing series for pre-teens that love to read. As a series, GIC gets my highest recommendation, I loved them as a kid and it definitely helped my love of reading.

[Clinton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I previously read this as a child, and read it again in my twenties. You appreciate the writing so much more.