The picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde

In Oscar Wilde's famous novel,Dorian Grayis tempted by Henry Wotton to sell his soul in order to hold on to beauty and youth. Dorian succumbs and murders the portrait painter Basil Haliward, who stands between him and his goal. Though in the end vice is punished and virtue rewarded, the novel remains one of the most important expressions of fin de sicle decadence. It is in the preface to the expanded edition ofThe Picture of Dorian Graythat Wilde coined the most famous expression of his aesthetic: "There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well-written or badly-written. That is all."

Like otherBroadview Editions, this edition includes a wide range of materials from the period that help to set the text in context. In particular, the editor locates the text both in relation to elements in the mainstream culture of the day (such as the aesthetes); and in relation to the gay subculture.