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The Picture of Dorian Gray
Contributor(s): Wilde, Oscar (Author), Vance, Simon (Read by)

ISBN: 1433209179 ISBN-13: 9781433209178
Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks

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Binding Type: MP3 CD - See All Available Formats & Editions
Published: January 2008
Annotation: Spellbound before his own portrait, Dorian Gray utters a fateful wish. In exchange for eternal youth he gives his soul, to be corrupted by the malign influence of his mentor, the aesthete and hedonist Lord Henry Wotton. The novel was met with moral outrage by contemporary critics who, dazzled perhaps by Wilde's brilliant style, may have confused the author with his creation, Lord Henry, to whom even Dorian protests, 'You cut life to pieces with your epigrams.'. Encouraged by Lord Henry to substitute pleasure for goodness and art for reality, Dorian tries to watch impassively as he brings misery and death to those who love him. But the picture is watching him, and, made hideous by the marks of sin, it confronts Dorian with the reflection of his fall from grace, the silent bearer of what is in effect a devastating moral judgement.

Click for more in this series: Classic Collection (Blackstone Audio)

Additional Information

BISAC Categories:
- Fiction | Classics

Dewey: FIC

Series: Classic Collection (Blackstone Audio)

Physical Information: 0.6" H x 5.76" W x 7.5" L (0.21 lbs)

Features: Ikids, Unabridged

Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.

Publisher Description:
Dorian Gray, a handsome and narcissistic young man, lives thoughtlessly for his own pleasure--an attitude encouraged by the company he keeps. One day, after having his portrait painted, Dorian makes a frivolous Faustian wish: that he should always remain as young and beautiful as he is in that painting, while the portrait grows old in his stead. The wish comes true, and Dorian soon finds that none of his wicked actions have visible consequences. Realizing that he will appear fresh and unspoiled no matter what kind of life he lives, Dorian becomes increasingly corrupt, unchecked by public opinion. Only the portrait grows degenerate and ugly, a powerful symbol of Dorian's internal ruin. Wilde's dreamlike exploration of life without limits scandalized its late-Victorian audience and has haunted readers' imaginations for more than a hundred years.

Contributor Bio(s): Wilde, Oscar: -

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) was born in Dublin in 1854. He won scholarships to both Trinity College, Dublin, and Magdalen College, Oxford, where he was heavily influenced by the radical aesthetics of Walter Pater. Flamboyant wit and man-about-town, Wilde had a reputation that preceded him, especially in his early career. After publishing two volumes of short stories between 1887 and 1891, his social-comedy plays such as Lady Windermere's Fan and The Importance of Being Earnest established his critical and commercial success. In 1895 Wilde was sentenced to two years' imprisonment for homosexual conduct and died in Paris in obscurity a few years after his release.

Vance, Simon: -

Simon Vance is an award-winning actor and an AudioFile Golden Voice with over forty Earphones Awards. He has won thirteen prestigious Audie Awards and was Booklist's very first Voice of Choice in 2008. He has narrated more than eight hundred audiobooks over almost thirty years, beginning when he was a radio newsreader for the BBC in London.

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