Dorian Gray is the subject of a full-length portrait in oil by Basil Hallward, an artist infatuated by Dorian's beauty. Through Basil, Dorian meets Lord Henry Wotton, and he soon is enthralled by the aristocrat's hedonistic worldview: that beauty and sensual fulfilment are the only things worth pursuing in life. Suddenly understanding that his beauty will fade, Dorian expresses the desire to sell his soul, to ensure that the picture, rather than...

The crowning plays of one of Ireland's most heralded artists Oscar Wilde was at once a family man and a homosexual outsider, a socialite, socialist, and Irish nationalist. His contradictions inspired him to ponder the roles and masks donned in conventional society, and his acute and wry insights are wonderfully displayed in this collection of his essential plays. Known not only for his brilliant, epigrammatic language, but also for his sense of theatrical...

This facsimile of the 1913 edition includes, along with the title story, "The nightingale and the rose," "The selfish giant," "The devoted friend," and "The remarkable rocket."