The Picture of Dorian Gray

Dorian Gray is young, rich, and dazzlingly beautiful. When sitting for a portrait, he is drawn into the orbit of Lord Henry Wotton-a brilliant talker whose wit turns temptation into a philosophy. A reckless wish takes hold: let the painting bear the marks of time and sin, while Dorian remains untouched.

In fin-de-siècle London, years pass. Dorian moves through drawing rooms and back streets alike, adored in public, feared in whispers, shedding scruple as easily as he changes gloves. Locked away, the canvas becomes his secret history . . .

Wilde's only novel is epigrammatic, intoxicating-a glittering comedy of manners that turns, sentence by sentence, into a gothic meditation on desire, art, and the price of perfect appearances.