Synopsis An exquisitely beautiful young man in Victorian England retains his youthful and innocent appearance over the years while his portrait reflects both his age and evil soul as he pursues a life of decadence and corruption. Illustrated sidebar notes provide historical background to the text.
Oscar Wilde's classic work is about a man who sells his soul for eternal youth: only his portrait ages, while he remains forever handsome and young. Wilde's allegory, first published in 1890, provides an interesting take on the Faust myth and also a probing examination of human values. Wilde himself described it as the story of "an idea that is old in the history of literature, but to which I have given new form." He was shocked and angered by the response to it by the English press, which considered the novel decadent, corrupting, and--worst of all--French-influenced.
| Details | | Publication Date: | 1995-06-01 | | Edition Description: | Revised |
| Size | | Height: | 7.0 in | | Width: | 4.3 in | | Thickness: | 1.0 in | | Weight: | 5.6 oz |
Publisher's Note Oscar Wilde's haunting classic of a never-aging man, and his ever-graying portrait, is one of literature's finest examples of gothic horror. With three more Wilde short stories, "Lord Arthur Savile's Crime", "The Happy Prince", "The Birthday of the Infanta" and a new introduction by Gary Schmidgall, author of The Strangest Wilde, this is the finest edition available.
Industry Reviews "He is not one of those writers who as the centuries change lose their relevance. Wilde is one of us. His wit is an agent of renewal as pertinent now as a hundred years ago." Richard Ellmann
"It is poisonous if you like; but you cannot deny that it is also perfect, and perfection is what we artists aim at." Biography - Oscar Wilde
"...[a] tale spawned from the leprous literature of the French decadents--a poisonous book, the atmosphere of which is heavy with the mephitic odours of moral and spiritual putrefaction." Hardyment
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