The picture of Dorian Gray

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Language
English

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Oscar Wilde’s classic, alluring novel of a man so obsessed with his appearance that he sacrifices his soul for eternal youth—with an introduction by Jeffrey Eugenides Now a critically acclaimed Broadway play starring Sarah Snook! Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American ReadFascinated by his own beautiful portrait, Dorian Gray makes a Faustian pact to exchange his soul for perpetual youth and beauty. Guided by Lord Henry Wotton, he embarks on a life of corruption, satisfying his desires while still appearing as a respectable gentleman to society. Only Dorian's portrait shows the signs of his moral decline.An insightful depiction of a hidden life and a critique of the darker facets of late Victorian society, The Picture of Dorian Gray provides a chilling portrayal of a man confronting the reality of his soul. Shocking in its implications of forbidden transgressions, this novel was later used as evidence against Oscar Wilde during his 1895 trial for indecency.

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ISBN
9780375751516
9781483089454
9780394605142
9781843441847
9780679600015
9781620115060
9781593080259
014043187
9780141439570

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Published Reviews

Booklist Review

Gr. 6^-12. For teens who find even steadily paced novels a struggle, the biting but often meandering discussions between Basil and Lord Henry in Wilde's classic can seem overwhelming and pointless. But this version's informative sidebars make the surreal tale of the beautiful young man who never ages one that teens can not only tackle but also begin to relish. When the story advances or twists, Tony Ross' colorful artwork emphasizes Wilde's absurdly witty take on Victorian provincialism. For scenes in which characters discuss aesthetics, sidebar illustrations with helpful captions explain how Wilde's philosophies influenced his characterizations. Even when the sidebars only remotely relate to the story, they provide a clear cultural outline of the mores that resulted in Wilde's public undoing and his untimely death. The supplemental information and illustrations may strike sharp YA readers as amusing or interesting, but they may be the sole reason weaker readers tackle the novel at all. --Roger Leslie

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
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School Library Journal Review

Gr 10 Up-"The Whole Story" format provides illustrations and annotations to the classic text. Ross's lively and sophisticated cartoons add interest, and historical information helps readers place the novel in proper context and gives insight into its characters. The problem with this attractive, glossy layout, however, is that the text and the quotes pulled from it are not always on the same page. Further, some illustrations and notations visually cut into the narrative and may distract readers. For example, a drawing appears on the first page along with the passage, "In the centre of the room, clamped to an upright easel, stood the full-length portrait of a young man of extraordinary personal beauty," but that quote does not appear until the second page of the story. Useful as a supplement to the original novel, but not a replacement for it.-Karen Hoth, Marathon Middle/High School, FL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Horn Book Review

Wilde's sophisticated novel of the seemingly ageless Dorian Gray and the portrait that reflects his debauchery is presented unabridged and accompanied by adequate watercolor illustrations. Historical facts, biographical information, and supplemental photographs and art are included in the margins, though perhaps not as overwhelmingly as in previous volumes of the series. From HORN BOOK Fall 2001, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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