The Picture of Dorian Gray & Other Fantastic Tales

by Oscar Wilde

Overview

Horror hides behind an attractive face in The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde’s scandalous tale of a Victorian libertine and his life of evil excesses. Though Dorian’s hedonistic indulgences leave no blemish on his ageless features, the painted portrait imbued with his soul proves a living catalogue of corruption, revealing in every new line and lesion it develops the manifold sins he has committed. Desperate to hide the physical evidence of his unregenerate spirit, Dorian will stop at nothing to keep his picture’s existence a secret.

The Picture of Dorian Gray & Other Fantastic Tales collects four of Wilde’s tales of the macabre. Leavened with wit and written with the flare and élan that were the hallmarks of Wilde’s style, they rank among the most sophisticated literary fantasies of the nineteenth century.

Selections include:

• “Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime”—The palm reader told Lord Arthur he would kill someone—and not knowing who, or when, is enough to drive him to murder.
• “The Canterville Ghost”— When a profane family from America acquires Canterville Chase, its resident ghost is embarrassed to discover that he can’t scare them.
• “The Sphinx Without a Secret”—The mysterious woman was known for being mysterious. But was that her only secret?

This volume also includes six prose poems in which Wilde’s fanciful reflections on sin, redemption, and love confirm his reputation as one of his era’s ablest fantasists.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781435132511
Publisher:	Fall River Press
Publication date:	09/23/2010
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	360
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

The ever-quotable Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) was an Irish playwright, novelist, essayist, and poet who delighted Victorian England with his legendary wit. He found critical and popular success with his scintillating plays, chiefly The Importance of Being Earnest, while his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, scandalized readers. Imprisoned for two years for homosexual behavior, Wilde moved to France after his release, where he died destitute.

Date of Birth:

October 16, 1854

Date of Death:

November 30, 1900

Place of Birth:

Dublin, Ireland

Place of Death:

Paris, France

Education:

The Royal School in Enniskillen, Dublin, 1864; Trinity College, Dublin, 1871; Magdalen College, Oxford, England, 1874