Best Selling Books by Oscar Wilde

Introduction by Jeffrey Eugenides • Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read Written in his distinctively dazzling manner, Oscar Wilde’s story of a fashionable young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty is the author’s most popular work. The tale of Dorian Gray’s moral disintegration caused a scandal when it first appeared in 1890, but though Wilde was attacked for the novel’s corrupting influence, he responded that there is, in fact, “a terrible moral in Dorian Gray.” Just a few years later, the book and the aesthetic/moral dilemma it presented became issues in the trials occasioned by Wilde’s homosexual liaisons, which resulted in his imprisonment. Of Dorian Gray’s relationship to autobiography, Wilde noted in a letter, “Basil Hallward is what I think I am: Lord Henry what the world thinks me: Dorian what I would like to be—in other ages, perhaps.”

The artist is the creator of beautiful things. To reveal art and conceal the artist is art''s aim. The critic is he who can translate into another manner or a new material his impression of beautiful things. The highest as the lowest form of criticism is a mode of autobiography. Those who find ugly meanings in beautiful things are corrupt without being charming. This is a fault. Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For these there is hope. They are the elect to whom beautiful things mean only beauty. There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all.

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Written in his distinctively dazzling manner, Oscar Wilde''s story of a fashionable young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty is the author''s most popular work. The tale of Dorian Gray''s moral disintegration caused a scandal when it first appeared in 1890, but though Wilde was attacked for the novel''s corrupting influence, he responded that there is, in fact, "a terrible moral in Dorian Gray." Just a few years later, the book and the aesthetic/moral dilemma it presented became issues in the trials occasioned by Wilde''s homosexual liaisons, which resulted in his imprisonment. Of Dorian Gray''s relationship to autobiography, Wilde noted in a letter, "Basil Hallward is what I think I am: Lord Henry what the world thinks me: Dorian what I would like to be-in other ages, perhaps.

Written in his distinctively dazzling manner, Oscar Wilde''s story of a fashionable young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty is the author''s most popular work. The tale of Dorian Gray''s moral disintegration caused a scandal when it first appeared in 1890, but though Wilde was attacked for the novel''s corrupting influence, he responded that there is, in fact, "a terrible moral in Dorian Gray." Just a few years later, the book and the aesthetic/moral dilemma it presented became issues in the trials occasioned by Wilde''s homosexual liaisons, which resulted in his imprisonment. Of Dorian Gray''s relationship to autobiography, Wilde noted in a letter, "Basil Hallward is what I think I am: Lord Henry what the world thinks me: Dorian what I would like to be-in other ages, perhaps.

Written in his distinctively dazzling manner, Oscar Wilde''s story of a fashionable young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty is the author''s most popular work. The tale of Dorian Gray''s moral disintegration caused a scandal when it first appeared in 1890, but though Wilde was attacked for the novel''s corrupting influence, he responded that there is, in fact, "a terrible moral in Dorian Gray." Just a few years later, the book and the aesthetic/moral dilemma it presented became issues in the trials occasioned by Wilde''s homosexual liaisons, which resulted in his imprisonment. Of Dorian Gray''s relationship to autobiography, Wilde noted in a letter, "Basil Hallward is what I think I am: Lord Henry what the world thinks me: Dorian what I would like to be-in other ages, perhaps.

Oscar Wilde made up these very special fairy stories for children. He was telling them more than stories about princes, giants, nightingales, and roses, he was teaching them about life and the way to live it. You will find in them so much sweetness and tenderness you will never forget them.They can be read aloud to children of six, and everybody will want a copy for their own private delight when they are older. There is no age for this book - it is a brilliant and haunting treasure house for everybody.Includes a biography of the author.

Oscar Fingal O''Flahertie Wills Wilde was born on the 16th October 1854 in Dublin Ireland. The son of Dublin intellectuals Oscar proved himself an outstanding classicist at Dublin, then at Oxford. With his education complete Wilde moved to London and its fashionable cultural and social circles. With his biting wit, flamboyant dress, and glittering conversation, Wilde became one of the most well-known personalities of his day. His only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray was published in 1890 and he then moved on to writing for the stage with Salome in 1891. His society comedies produced enormous hits and turned him into one of the most successful writers of late Victorian London. Whilst his masterpiece, The Importance of Being Earnest, was on stage in London, Wilde had the Marquess of Queensberry, the father of his lover, Lord Alfred Douglas, prosecuted for libel. The trial unearthed evidence that caused Wilde to drop his charges and led to his own arrest and trial for gross indecency. He was convicted and imprisoned for two years'' hard labour. It was to break him. On release he left for France, There he wrote his last work, The Ballad of Reading Gaol in 1898. He died destitute in Paris at the age of forty-six sipping champagne a friend had brought with the line ''Alas I am dying beyond my means''. Here we publish a collection of short stories that whilst generally known as stories for Children are equally at home in the imaginations of adults.

“Now, for the first time, we can read the version that Wilde intended...Both the text and Nicholas Frankel’s introduction make for fascinating reading.” —Paris Review More than 120 years after Oscar Wilde submitted The Picture of Dorian Gray for publication in Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine, the uncensored version of his novel appears here for the first time in a paperback edition. This volume restores all of the material removed by the novel’s first editor. Upon receipt of the typescript, Wilde’s editor panicked at what he saw. Contained within its pages was material he feared readers would find “offensive”—especially instances of graphic homosexual content. He proceeded to go through the typescript with his pencil, cleaning it up until he made it “acceptable to the most fastidious taste.” Wilde did not see these changes until his novel appeared in print. Wilde’s editor’s concern was well placed. Even in its redacted form, the novel caused public outcry. The British press condemned it as “vulgar,” “unclean,” “poisonous,” “discreditable,” and “a sham.” When Wilde later enlarged the novel for publication in book form, he responded to his critics by further toning down its “immoral” elements. Wilde famously said that The Picture of Dorian Gray “contains much of me”: Basil Hallward is “what I think I am,” Lord Henry “what the world thinks me,” and “Dorian what I would like to be—in other ages, perhaps.” Wilde’s comment suggests a backward glance to a Greek or Dorian Age, but also a forward-looking view to a more permissive time than his own repressive Victorian era. By implication, Wilde would have preferred we read today the uncensored version of his novel.

Written in his distinctively dazzling manner, Oscar Wilde''s story of a fashionable young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty is the author''s most popular work. The tale of Dorian Gray''s moral disintegration caused a scandal when it first appeared in 1890, but though Wilde was attacked for the novel''s corrupting influence, he responded that there is, in fact, "a terrible moral in Dorian Gray."

Written in his distinctively dazzling manner, Oscar Wilde''s story of a fashionable young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty is the author''s most popular work. The tale of Dorian Gray''s moral disintegration caused a scandal when it first appeared in 1890, but though Wilde was attacked for the novel''s corrupting influence, he responded that there is, in fact, "a terrible moral in Dorian Gray."

This is Oscar Wilde''s most famous work and caused a lot of controversy on it''s first publication in 1890. The story of a young and handsome Dorian Gray who sells his soul for the pleasures in life and retain his youth and beauty. LARGE PRINT EDITION 16 POINT FONT USED

Written in his distinctively dazzling manner, Oscar Wilde''s story of a fashionable young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty is the author''s most popular work. The tale of Dorian Gray''s moral disintegration caused a scandal when it first appeared in 1890, but though Wilde was attacked for the novel''s corrupting influence, he responded that there is, in fact, "a terrible moral in Dorian Gray." Just a few years later, the book and the aesthetic/moral dilemma it presented became issues in the trials occasioned by Wilde''s homosexual liaisons, which resulted in his imprisonment. Of Dorian Gray''s relationship to autobiography, Wilde noted in a letter, "Basil Hallward is what I think I am: Lord Henry what the world thinks me: Dorian what I would like to be-in other ages, perhaps.

Twee jongemannen storten zich rond de eeuwwisseling in een hartstochtelijke affaire.

Written in his distinctively dazzling manner, Oscar Wilde''s story of a fashionable young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty is the author''s most popular work. The tale of Dorian Gray''s moral disintegration caused a scandal when it first appeared in 1890, but though Wilde was attacked for the novel''s corrupting influence, he responded that there is, in fact, "a terrible moral in Dorian Gray." Just a few years later, the book and the aesthetic/moral dilemma it presented became issues in the trials occasioned by Wilde''s homosexual liaisons, which resulted in his imprisonment. Of Dorian Gray''s relationship to autobiography, Wilde noted in a letter, "Basil Hallward is what I think I am: Lord Henry what the world thinks me: Dorian what I would like to be-in other ages, perhaps.

Written in his distinctively dazzling manner, Oscar Wilde''s story of a fashionable young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty is the author''s most popular work. The tale of Dorian Gray''s moral disintegration caused a scandal when it first appeared in 1890, but though Wilde was attacked for the novel''s corrupting influence, he responded that there is, in fact, "a terrible moral in Dorian Gray."

Written in his distinctively dazzling manner, Oscar Wilde''s story of a fashionable young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty is the author''s most popular work. The tale of Dorian Gray''s moral disintegration caused a scandal when it first appeared in 1890, but though Wilde was attacked for the novel''s corrupting influence, he responded that there is, in fact, "a terrible moral in Dorian Gray."

The Importance of Being Earnest By Oscar WildeThis lighthearted play tells the farcical tale of Jack Worthing and Algernon Montcrieff-two men who falsely claim to be named Ernest when they fall in love with two women whose affections are illogically but irrevocably tied to the name.The Importance of Being Earnest was popular upon its debut in 1895. It was not until the twentieth century that Wilde''s work was once again recognized both for its literary worth and comedic genius, and subsequently The Importance of Being Earnest has been adapted many times for film and theatre, most recently in the 2002 film starring Colin Firth, Rupert Everett, Reese Witherspoon, and Dame Judy Dench.

"This classic book is about a young man named Dorian Gray. He is the subject of a painting by artist Basil Hallward who thinks he is very good looking, with a pure beauty. One thing leads to another and Dorian embraces a new hedonism with Basil and a new group of friends. He begins to believe that the only things worth pursuing in life are beauty, fulfillment of the senses, and pleasures of the flesh ..."--

The Picture of Dorian Gray is an 1891 philosophical novel by Irish writer and playwright Oscar Wilde. First published as a serial story in the July 1890 issue of Lippincott''s Monthly Magazine, the editors feared the story was indecent, and without Wilde''s knowledge, deleted five hundred words before publication. Despite that censorship, The Picture of Dorian Gray offended the moral sensibilities of British book reviewers, some of whom said that Oscar Wilde merited prosecution for violating the laws guarding the public morality. In response, Wilde aggressively defended his novel and art in correspondence with the British press. Wilde revised and expanded the magazine edition of The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890) for publication as a novel; the book edition (1891) featured an aphoristic preface - an apologia about the art of the novel and the reader. The content, style, and presentation of the preface made it famous in its own literary right, as social and cultural criticism. In April 1891, the editorial house Ward, Lock and Company published the revised version of The Picture of Dorian Gray.

The Picture of Dorian Gray is the story of one beautiful, innocent young man''''s seduction, moral corruption, and eventual downfall. We meet our three central characters at the beginning of the book, when painter Basil Hallward and his close friend, Lord Henry Wotton, are discussing the subject of Basil''''s newest painting, a gorgeous young thing named Dorian Gray. Basil and Henry discuss just how perfectly perfect Dorian is--he''''s totally innocent and completely good, as well as being the most beautiful guy ever to walk the earth. Lord Henry wants to meet this mysterious boy, but Basil doesn''''t want him to; for some reason, he''''s afraid of what will happen to Dorian if Lord Henry digs his claws into him. However, Lord Henry gets his wish--Dorian shows up that very afternoon, and, over the course of the day, Henry manages to totally change Dorian''''s perspective on the world. From that point on, Dorian''''s previously innocent point of view is dramatically different--he begins to see life as Lord Henry does, as a succession of pleasures in which questions of good and evil are irrelevant. Basil finishes his portrait of Dorian, and gives it to the young man, who keeps it in his home, where he can admire his own beauty. Lord Henry continues to exert his influence over Dorian, to Basil''''s dismay. Dorian grows more and more distant from Basil, his former best friend, and develops his own interests. One of these interests is Sybil Vane, a young, exceptionally beautiful, exceptionally talented--and exceptionally poor--actress. Though she''''s stuck performing in a terrible, third-rate theatre, she''''s a truly remarkable artist, and her talent and beauty win over Dorian. He falls dramatically in love with her, and she with him. For a moment, it seems like everything will turn out wonderfully. However, this is just the beginning of Dorian''''s story. Once he and Sybil are engaged, her talent suddenly disappears--she''''s so overcome with her passionate love for Dorian that none of her roles on stage seem important to her anymore. This destroys Dorian''''s love for her, and he brutally dumps her. Back home, he notices a something different in his portrait--it looks somehow crueler. In the meanwhile, the distraught Sybil commits suicide, just as Dorian decides to return to her and take back his terrible words. Sybil''''s suicide changes everything. At first, Dorian feels horrible... but he rather quickly changes his tune. On Lord Henry''''s suggestion, Dorian reads a mysterious "yellow book," a decadent French novel that makes him reevaluate his whole belief system. The protagonist of the book lives his life in pursuit of sensual pleasures, which intrigues Dorian. From this moment on, Dorian is a changed man. Dorian starts to live as hedonistically as his wicked mentor, Lord Henry, does. The only thing that documents this turn for the worst is the portrait, which alarmingly begins to exhibit the inward corruption of Dorian''''s soul; the beautiful image changes, revealing new scars and physical flaws with each of Dorian''''s dastardly actions. As years pass, the man in the picture grows more and more hideous, as Dorian himself stays unnaturally young and beautiful. Rumors start to spread about the various people whose lives Dorian has ruined, and his formerly good reputation is destroyed. On Dorian''''s 38th birthday, he encounters Basil, who desperately asks his former friend if all the horrifying rumors about him are true. Dorian finally snaps and shows Basil the portrait, in which the horrible truth about his wicked nature is revealed. Basil recoils, and begs Dorian to pray for forgiveness. In response, Dorian murders Basil, stabbing him brutally. He blackmails another of his former friends into disposing of the body. Dorian retreats to an opium den after dealing with all of the evidence, where he encounters an enemy he didn''''t know he had--Sybil Vane''''s brother, James...