The Picture of Dorian Gray

The Classic Novel of Beauty, Art, and Moral Corruption—An Original Annotated Historical and Literary Edition

The Picture of Dorian Gray presents Oscar Wilde’s original 1891 text together with an original editorial introduction, more than 220 explanatory annotations, and a curated further reading guide.

First published in 1891, The Picture of Dorian Gray remains one of the most celebrated and provocative novels of the Victorian age. When the handsome young Dorian Gray wishes that a painted portrait might grow old in his place, his desire is mysteriously granted. As Dorian pursues a life devoted to beauty, pleasure, and sensation, the portrait records the hidden consequences of his choices while his outward appearance remains untouched.

Original annotations illuminate the novel through historical, literary, artistic, philosophical, and cultural context. Explore late Victorian London, the Aesthetic and Decadent movements, art and collecting, classical and biblical allusions, Wilde’s literary influences, and the ideas that shape the novel’s enduring questions about beauty, identity, temptation, conscience, and moral responsibility.

Read The Picture of Dorian Gray as both a haunting Gothic masterpiece and a penetrating portrait of late Victorian culture.

This edition features original editorial commentary by T. S. Causley, a registered professional archaeologist and art historian whose historical and material-culture approach brings fresh context to one of the defining works of Victorian literature.

Includes: Editorial Introduction by T. S. Causley • 220+ Original Annotations • Historical and Literary Commentary • Curated Further Reading