Oscar Wilde's 'The Picture of Dorian Gray'

The name of Oscar Wilde needs no introduction. He was a poet, a playwright and the author of many short stories. But all of us are not aware of the fact that he tried his hand at writing a novel too. The only product of his penmanship in the form of a novel was ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’, which was published in 1981, after being published as a story in a monthly magazine (Lippincott's Monthly Magazine) in 1890.

The novel is a classic example of the gothic horror fiction. The theme of the novel has a Faustian theme – the protagonist Dorian Gray wishes that his portrait would age rather than himself. And his wish is fulfilled. Then there is a series of sins.

The novel begins on a flowery note. What I mean by this will be obvious from the following opening lines:
“The studio was filled with the rich odour of roses, and when the light summer wind stirred amidst the trees of the garden there came through the open door the heavy scent of the lilac, or the more delicate perfume of the pink-flowering thorn.”

Here is another of the memorable quote from the book:
“ . . . there is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about."