THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY

A triumph of execution ... one of the best narratives of the "double life" of a Victorian gentleman Peter Ackroyd Oscar Wilde s alluring novel of decadence and sin was a succès de scandale on publication. It follows Dorian Gray who, enthralled by his own exquisite portrait, exchanges his soul for eternal youth and beauty. Influenced by his friend Lord Henry Wotton, he is drawn into a corrupt double life, indulging his desires in secret while remaining a gentleman in the eyes of polite society. Only his portrait bears the traces of his depravity. This definitive edition includes a selection of contemporary reviews condemning the novel s immorality. Edited with an Introduction and notes by ROBERT MIGHALL