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The Picture of Dorian Gray: A Classic Gothic Novel of Beauty, Vanity, and Corruption
In this captivating tale of vanity and moral decay, young Dorian Gray becomes enamored with his own portrait, wishing to remain forever youthful while the painting bears the burden of his sins. As he descends into a world of hedonism and excess, Dorian’s charming facade hides a dark and corrupted soul. Oscar Wilde explores themes of beauty, morality, and the consequences of a life lived solely for pleasure. W.Books é o selo editorial do Grupo Ciranda Cultural 100% dedicado aos grandes clássicos da literatura mundial em inglês. Com uma curadoria cuidadosa e formatos pensados para diferentes níveis de leitura, o selo tem como missão tornar a literatura clássica acessível, atrativa e relevante para leitores em formação, estudantes de inglês e apaixonados por grandes obras. A série CLASSICS reúne os grandes textos da literatura universal em sua versão integral, totalmente em inglês. Ideal para leitores experientes ou estudantes avançados que desejam mergulhar na obra original com profundidade, fidelidade e riqueza de vocabulário. Seja para quem está dando os primeiros passos na leitura em inglês ou para quem busca o texto original na íntegra, W.Books oferece edições didáticas, visualmente estimulantes e pensadas para desenvolver o gosto pela leitura e o domínio do idioma.
258 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 20, 2026
About the author
Oscar Wilde
5,792 books40k followersOscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is best remembered for his epigrams and plays, his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, and his criminal conviction for gross indecency for homosexual acts.
Wilde's parents were Anglo-Irish intellectuals in Dublin. In his youth, Wilde learned to speak fluent French and German. At university, he read Greats; he demonstrated himself to be an exceptional classicist, first at Trinity College Dublin, then at Magdalen College, Oxford. He became associated with the emerging philosophy of aestheticism, led by two of his tutors, Walter Pater and John Ruskin. After university, Wilde moved to London into fashionable cultural and social circles.
Wilde tried his hand at various literary activities: he wrote a play, published a book of poems, lectured in the United States and Canada on "The English Renaissance" in art and interior decoration, and then returned to London where he lectured on his American travels and wrote reviews for various periodicals. Known for his biting wit, flamboyant dress and glittering conversational skill, Wilde became one of the best-known personalities of his day. At the turn of the 1890s, he refined his ideas about the supremacy of art in a series of dialogues and essays, and incorporated themes of decadence, duplicity, and beauty into what would be his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890). Wilde returned to drama, writing Salome (1891) in French while in Paris, but it was refused a licence for England due to an absolute prohibition on the portrayal of Biblical subjects on the English stage. Undiscouraged, Wilde produced four society comedies in the early 1890s, which made him one of the most successful playwrights of late-Victorian London.
At the height of his fame and success, while An Ideal Husband (1895) and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895) were still being performed in London, Wilde issued a civil writ against John Sholto Douglas, the 9th Marquess of Queensberry for criminal libel. The Marquess was the father of Wilde's lover, Lord Alfred Douglas. The libel hearings unearthed evidence that caused Wilde to drop his charges and led to his own arrest and criminal prosecution for gross indecency with other males. The jury was unable to reach a verdict and so a retrial was ordered. In the second trial Wilde was convicted and sentenced to two years' hard labour, the maximum penalty, and was jailed from 1895 to 1897. During his last year in prison he wrote De Profundis (published posthumously in abridged form in 1905), a long letter that discusses his spiritual journey through his trials and is a dark counterpoint to his earlier philosophy of pleasure. On the day of his release, he caught the overnight steamer to France, never to return to Britain or Ireland. In France and Italy, he wrote his last work, The Ballad of Reading Gaol (1898), a long poem commemorating the harsh rhythms of prison life.
Wilde's parents were Anglo-Irish intellectuals in Dublin. In his youth, Wilde learned to speak fluent French and German. At university, he read Greats; he demonstrated himself to be an exceptional classicist, first at Trinity College Dublin, then at Magdalen College, Oxford. He became associated with the emerging philosophy of aestheticism, led by two of his tutors, Walter Pater and John Ruskin. After university, Wilde moved to London into fashionable cultural and social circles.
Wilde tried his hand at various literary activities: he wrote a play, published a book of poems, lectured in the United States and Canada on "The English Renaissance" in art and interior decoration, and then returned to London where he lectured on his American travels and wrote reviews for various periodicals. Known for his biting wit, flamboyant dress and glittering conversational skill, Wilde became one of the best-known personalities of his day. At the turn of the 1890s, he refined his ideas about the supremacy of art in a series of dialogues and essays, and incorporated themes of decadence, duplicity, and beauty into what would be his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890). Wilde returned to drama, writing Salome (1891) in French while in Paris, but it was refused a licence for England due to an absolute prohibition on the portrayal of Biblical subjects on the English stage. Undiscouraged, Wilde produced four society comedies in the early 1890s, which made him one of the most successful playwrights of late-Victorian London.
At the height of his fame and success, while An Ideal Husband (1895) and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895) were still being performed in London, Wilde issued a civil writ against John Sholto Douglas, the 9th Marquess of Queensberry for criminal libel. The Marquess was the father of Wilde's lover, Lord Alfred Douglas. The libel hearings unearthed evidence that caused Wilde to drop his charges and led to his own arrest and criminal prosecution for gross indecency with other males. The jury was unable to reach a verdict and so a retrial was ordered. In the second trial Wilde was convicted and sentenced to two years' hard labour, the maximum penalty, and was jailed from 1895 to 1897. During his last year in prison he wrote De Profundis (published posthumously in abridged form in 1905), a long letter that discusses his spiritual journey through his trials and is a dark counterpoint to his earlier philosophy of pleasure. On the day of his release, he caught the overnight steamer to France, never to return to Britain or Ireland. In France and Italy, he wrote his last work, The Ballad of Reading Gaol (1898), a long poem commemorating the harsh rhythms of prison life.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 20, 2026
“Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”
Oscar Wilde’s classic treatise on the folly of the pursuit of comfort, ease, and eternal youth is worth reading.
His prose has a poetic lilt and his turns of phrase made you read pages twice to get the meaning, like good poetry does.
Minus 1 star because Chapter 11 was inexcusable both for its length (a 45 minute read for me) and containing absolutely nothing that progressed the story.
This is as much a “monster” story as Frankenstein or Dracula. This time the monster is a spoiled, pretty, rich, 19th century brat.
Oscar Wilde’s classic treatise on the folly of the pursuit of comfort, ease, and eternal youth is worth reading.
His prose has a poetic lilt and his turns of phrase made you read pages twice to get the meaning, like good poetry does.
Minus 1 star because Chapter 11 was inexcusable both for its length (a 45 minute read for me) and containing absolutely nothing that progressed the story.
This is as much a “monster” story as Frankenstein or Dracula. This time the monster is a spoiled, pretty, rich, 19th century brat.
July 31, 2026
A conscience autopsy!
June 28, 2026
The classic shows that when a person lives without responsibility, moral values, or self-control, it leads to self-destruction. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is a novel about beauty, youth, and morality.
It tells the story of Dorian Gray, a handsome young man who wishes to remain young forever. .After seeing his portrait painted by Basil Hallward, Dorian wishes that the painting would grow old and ugly instead of him and his wish comes truen this way his cruel treatment of Sibyl Vane leads to her death, marking the beginning of his moral decline. Through this the portrait begins to change, showing the effects of his sins, while Dorian himself remains young and handsome.
Therefore the supernatural exchange, in which the artwork shows age and sin while the man remains young, acts as a strong symbol of how outer appearance can be separated from inner conscience.In the end, his attempt to destroy the portrait leads to his own death marks when aestheticism is divorced from ethics, inner decay inevitably overcomes outward beauty.
It tells the story of Dorian Gray, a handsome young man who wishes to remain young forever. .After seeing his portrait painted by Basil Hallward, Dorian wishes that the painting would grow old and ugly instead of him and his wish comes truen this way his cruel treatment of Sibyl Vane leads to her death, marking the beginning of his moral decline. Through this the portrait begins to change, showing the effects of his sins, while Dorian himself remains young and handsome.
Therefore the supernatural exchange, in which the artwork shows age and sin while the man remains young, acts as a strong symbol of how outer appearance can be separated from inner conscience.In the end, his attempt to destroy the portrait leads to his own death marks when aestheticism is divorced from ethics, inner decay inevitably overcomes outward beauty.
March 24, 2020
Don't bother. Disappointing and really very boring. The source material has been transplanted on to the stage, rather than adapted or dramatised. It gets from quote to quote and scene to scene quickly and efficiently, but loses all subtlety and feeling along the way.
April 14, 2026
A magnificent work skillfully brought into the social context which dominates discussion of Wilde's life and legacy through comprehensive and careful annotations, that open up the nuances of themes within this cornerstone of queer-classic writing.
An absolute joy to read.
An absolute joy to read.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews