The Picture of Dorian Gray
by Oscar Wilde
- First published
- 1890
- Reading level
- Easy
- Price
- Free
About the book
"The Picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde is a philosophical fiction and Gothic horror novel published in 1890. When a beautiful young man wishes that his portrait would age instead of himself, his desire becomes terrifyingly real. As Dorian pursues a life of pleasure and moral corruption, he remains eternally youthful while his painted image transforms into a horrifying record of his sins. Wilde explores beauty, morality, and the dangerous influence of hedonistic philosophy in this tale of vanity and its consequences.
- Didactic fiction
- Supernatural
- Conduct of life
- Portraits
- Great Britain
- London (England)
Updated September 2026. Public domain in the USA. Text and summary from Project Gutenberg eBook #174. The Picture of Dorian Gray on Wikipedia.
