{"product_id":"the-picture-of-dorian-gray-and-three-stories-9780451530455","title":"The Picture of Dorian Gray and Three Stories","description":"\u003cb\u003eA fashionable young man sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty in Oscar Wilde's fascinating gothic tale. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde's only full-length novel, is the enduringly eerie story of a na ve and irresistible young man lured by decadent Lord Henry Wotton into a life of depravity. Though Dorian is steeped in sin, his face remains perfect, unlined as years pass--while only his portrait, locked away, reveals the blackness of his soul. This timeless tale of Gothic horror and fable, reveling in the unabashed hedonism and cynical wit of its characters, epitomizes Wilde's literary revolt against the proprieties of the Victorian era. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Sharing this volume with \u003ci\u003eThe Picture of Dorian Gray\u003c\/i\u003e are Wilde's clever and sophisticated story \"Lord Arthur Savile's Crime\" and two of his delicate fairy tales, \"The Happy Prince\" and \"The Birthday of the Infanta.\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eWith an Introduction by Gary Schnidgall\u003cbr\u003eand an Afterword by Peter Raby\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eOscar Wilde\u003c\/b\u003e (1854-1900) was born in Dublin, Ireland. He was an outstanding student of classics at Trinity College, and in 1874, he entered Magdalen College, Oxford, where he won the Newdigate Prize with his poem \"Ravenna\" (1878). An early leader of the Aesthetic Movement, which advanced the concept of \"art for art's sake,\" Wilde became a prominent personality in literary and social circles. His volume of fairy tales, \u003ci\u003eThe Happy Prince and Other Tales\u003c\/i\u003e (1888), was followed by \u003ci\u003eThe Picture of Dorian Gray\u003c\/i\u003e (1891) and \u003ci\u003eThe House of Pomegranates\u003c\/i\u003e (1892). However, it was not until his play \u003ci\u003eLady Windermere's Fan\u003c\/i\u003e (1892) was presented to the pubic that he became widely famous. \u003ci\u003eA Woman of No Importance\u003c\/i\u003e (1893) and \u003ci\u003eThe Importance of Being Earnest\u003c\/i\u003e (1895) confirmed his stature as a dramatist. In 1895, he brought libel action against the Marquis of Queensbury, who had accused him of the crime of sodomy. He lost, however, and was sentenced under the Criminal Law Amendment Act to two years' imprisonment with hard labor. Upon his release in 1897, he settled in France, where he wrote his most powerful and enduring poem, \"The Ballad of Reading Gaol\" (1898). Wilde never returned to England; he died in Paris. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cb\u003eGary Schmidgall\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of such acclaimed titles as \u003ci\u003eThe Strange Wilde: Interpreting Oscar\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eShakespeare and The Poet's Life\u003c\/i\u003e. He is professor of English at Hunter College. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cb\u003ePeter Raby\u003c\/b\u003e has written extensively on modern drama and theater, and is the editor of the \u003ci\u003eCambridge Companion to Oscar Wilde.\u003c\/i\u003e He is emeritus fellow of Homerton College, Cambridge. Among his other books are a biography of Alfred Russel Wallace and \u003ci\u003eBright Paradise\u003c\/i\u003e, a study of Victorian scientific travellers.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Signet Book","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50583206887698,"sku":"9780451530455","price":5.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_df5e311e-24f0-431d-a869-270f57b5abb9.jpg?v=1732026718","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-picture-of-dorian-gray-and-three-stories-9780451530455","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}