The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
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The Picture of Dorian Gray

Author: Oscar Wilde

Narrator: Jake Urry, Joanne Evans (Credits)

Unabridged: 8 hr 46 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Jake Urry

Published: 03/01/2021

Categories: Fiction, Classic, Horror, Gothic


Synopsis

Captivated by the allure of his own portrait, Dorian Gray gives his soul in exchange for eternal youth and beauty. His friend Lord Henry Wotton draws him into a double life of secret vice, while to the world outside he preserves his immaculate facade. As his hidden portrait becomes uglier with each new sin, Dorian begins to lose control, and his past comes around to haunt him.Oscar Wilde's only novel is half gothic horror, half morality tale, and is as timeless as his plays and poems. First published in 1889, this unabridged audiobook edition narrated by Jake Urry captures the wit, the charm and the horror of Wilde's most controversial work.

About Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde was born in Dublin on October 16, 1854. He excelled at Trinity College in Dublin from 1871 to 1874, eventually winning a scholarship to Magdalene College in Oxford, which he entered in 1875. The biggest influences on his development as an artist at this time were Swinburne, Walter Pater, and John Ruskin.

In 1875, Wilde began publishing poetry in literary magazines. In 1876 he found himself back in Ireland when the death of his father left the family with several debts. Wilde continued writing poetry in earnest, and in 1878, he won the coveted Newdigate Prize for English poetry. He soon left Oxford to build himself a reputation among the literati in London.

During the 1880s, Wilde established himself as a writer, poet, and lecturer, but above all as a "professor of aesthetics." In 1884, he married Constance Lloyd in London. Sons soon followed: Cyril in 1885 and Vyvyan in 1886. During these years, Wilde worked as a journalist and reviewer, while also continuing with his other writing of poetry and plays. In 1890 he published his well-known story The Picture of Dorian Gray. The early 1890s were the most intellectually productive and fruitful time for Wilde. Some of his most familiar plays-including Lady Windemere's Fan and Salome-were written and performed upon the London stages. In 1893 Wilde produced A Woman of No Importance and An Ideal Husband, followed in 1894 by The Importance of Being Earnest.

Wilde's life took a turn for the worst when, in May 1895, he was convicted of engaging in homosexual acts, which were then illegal, and sentenced to two years imprisonment with hard labor. He soon declared bankruptcy, and his property was auctioned off. In 1896, Wilde lost legal custody of his children. When his mother died that same year, his wife Constance visited him at the jail to bring him the news. It was the last time they saw each other. In the years after his release, Wilde's health deteriorated. In November 1900, he died in Paris at the age of forty-six.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Scoobs on July 21, 2008

Oh Dorian. Oh Dorian. When I first read this book in the fruitless years of my youth I was excited, overwhelmed and a blank slate (as Dorian is, upon his first encounter with Lord Henry) easily molded, persuaded, influenced, etc. Certain Wildisms (Wildeisms?) would take my breath away. Would become my......more

Goodreads review by Sean Barrs on March 13, 2022

I finished reading this last night, and afterwards I spent an entire hour staring into space so I could contemplate over the majesty of this work. It left me speechless. This book is exquisite; it is an investigation into the human soul, the power of vanity and the problems of living a life with not......more

Goodreads review by Emily May on January 26, 2019

"The sitter is merely the accident, the occasion. It is not he who is revealed by the painter; it is rather the painter who, on the coloured canvas, reveals himself. The reason I will not exhibit this picture is that I am afraid that I have shown in it the secret of my own soul." And so b......more

Goodreads review by Paula on December 04, 2013

This book reminded me why I hate classics. Like Frankenstein, it starts out with a great premise: what if a portrait bore the brunt of age and sin, while the person remained in the flush of youth? How would that person feel as they watched a constant reminder of their true nature develop? And like Fr......more

Goodreads review by Ruby on March 15, 2021

2021 - I re-read this for university and loved it even more the second time round... Lord Henry is a paradigmatic sophist and his epigrams are delightful (partly because it's easy to forget that he is more rhetoric than truth). The connection between youthful appearance and character is also so fasc......more