Author Description

A beautiful edition with 7 illustrations and text from the unabridged 1910 edition. The Picture of Dorian Gray was first published in 1890 in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine. Fearing the story was indecent, the magazine's editor had deleted hundreds of words without Wilde's knowledge. Even so, the book still offended the moral sensibilities of British book reviewers. The novel was later released in a longer, revised version of 20 chapters. Dorian Gray is the subject of a full-length portrait in oil by an artist impressed and infatuated by Dorian's beauty. Realizing that his beauty will fade, Dorian sells his soul to ensure that the picture, rather than he, will age and fade. The wish is granted, and Dorian pursues a wild life of varied amoral experiences while staying young and beautiful; all the while, his portrait ages and records every sin.