If it were I who were to be always young and the picture to grow old ... I would give my soul for it.'
The wish uttered by Dorian Gray as he gazes on his portrait forms the basis of the plot of this brilliant and disturbing story of a gilded and spoilt hedonist who, Faust-like, is willing to sell his soul for beauty. It is a Gothic tale which highlights the tension between polished society and the individual's life of secret vice.
Published to scandalised protest, Wilde's fantastic melodrama was condemned by his contemporaries as an affront to polite society. It has, however, become one of his most celebrated works, a shining example of his storytelling power and wit.
