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　　The Picture of Dorian Gray, by oscar Wilde, is part of theBarnes Noble Classics series, which offers quality editionsat affordable prices to the student and the general reader,including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages ofcarefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable featuresof Barnes Noble Classics:
　　New introductions commissioned from today's top writers andscholars Biographies of the authors Chronologies of contemporaryhistorical, biographical, and cultural events Footnotes andendnotes Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems,books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired bythe work Comments by other famous authors Study questions tochallenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations Bibliographiesfor further reading Indices Glossaries, when appropriateAlleditions are beautifully designed and are printed to superiorspecifications; some include illustrations of historical interest.Barnes Noble Classics pulls together a constellation ofinfluences—biographical, historical, and literary—to enrich eachreader's understanding of these enduring works.

The Picture of Dorian Gray, by oscar Wilde, is part of the
Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions
at affordable prices to the student and the general reader,
including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of
carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features
of Barnes & Noble Classics: 
　　New introductions commissioned from today's top writers and
scholars Biographies of the authors Chronologies of contemporary
historical, biographical, and cultural events Footnotes and
endnotes Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems,
books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by
the work Comments by other famous authors Study questions to
challenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations Bibliographies
for further reading Indices & Glossaries, when appropriateAll
editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior
specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest.
Barnes & Noble Classics pulls together a constellation of
influences—biographical, historical, and literary—to enrich each
reader's understanding of these enduring works. 
　　oscar Wilde brings his enormous gifts for astute social
observation and sparkling prose to The Picture of Dorian Gray, his
dreamlike story of a young man who sells his soul for eternal youth
and beauty. This dandy, who remains forever unchanged—petulant,
hedonistic, vain, and amoral—while a painting of him ages and grows
increasingly hideous with the years, has been horrifying,
enchanting, obsessing, even corrupting readers for more than a
hundred years. 
　　Taking the reader in and out of London drawing rooms, to the
heights of aestheticism, and to the depths of decadence, The
Picture of Dorian Gray is not only a melodrama about moral
corruption. Laced with bon mots and vivid depictions of upper-class
refinement, it is also a fascinating look at the milieu of Wilde’s
fin-de-siècle world and a manifesto of the creed “Art for Art’s
Sake.” 
　　The ever-quotable Wilde, who once delighted London with his
scintillating plays, scandalized readers with this, his only novel.
Upon publication, Dorian was condemned as dangerous, poisonous,
stupid, vulgar, and immoral, and Wilde as a “driveling pedant.” The
novel, in fact, was used against Wilde at his much-publicized
trials for “gross indecency,” which led to his imprisonment and
exile on the European continent. Even so, The Picture of Dorian
Gray firmly established Wilde as one of the great voices of the
Aesthetic movement, and endures as a classic that is as timeless as
its hero. 
　　Camille Cauti, Ph.D., is an editor and literary critic who lives
in New York City. She is a specialist in the Catholic conversion
trend among members of the avant-garde in London in the 1890s.

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目　　录

THE WORLD OF OSCAR WILDE AND
The Picture of Dorian Gray
INTRODUCTION BY CAMILLE CAUTI
THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY
ENDNOTES
INSPIRED BY The Picture of Dorian Gray
COMMENTS & QUESTIONS
FOR FURTHER READING

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　　From Camille Cauti's Introduction to The Picture of DorianGray
　　Perhaps the most salient episode of Wilde's life involved histhree infamous court trials in spring 1895. They captivated theLondon press, much of which was only too happy to see Wilde, ofwhom it had long been jealously suspicious, debased and finallypunished for his alleged crimes and for daring to live outsideVictorian social convention. The first trial, in early April 1895,involved the author's libel suit against his lover Douglas'sfather, the Marquess of Queensbury (before the trials, he was mostfamous for formulating the Queensbury rules of boxing). Angry overWilde's alleged influence upon his son, Queensbury accused Wilde ina note of being a "posing somdomite" (sic). Queensbury's defenseattorney even presented The Picture of Dorian Gray as an immoral,perverted book and as one of the fifteen pleas for justification ofhis client's claim (although the justice at Wilde's next trialchose not to rule Dorian Gray as evidence of Wilde's crimes). Thusthe novel took on yet another role: involuntary accomplice toWilde's accuser. The libel suit was not resolved in Wilde's favor,and during the proceedings Queensbury's defense provided enoughpotential evidence of homosexuality to have Wilde tried under theCriminal Law Amendment Act. Friends and associates urged Wilde toflee the country, as other homosexuals on the verge of being outedhad done, but whether from stubbornness of his position or indenial of his vulnerability, he remained in London and was arrestedon April 5, 1895.
　　After two trials on charges of "committing acts of grossindecency with male persons," Wilde ultimately was found guilty andsentenced to the maximum penalty of two years in prison with hardlabor. He gave eloquent testimony on the stand to the legitimacyof, as he called it, "the love that dare not speak its name," whichin large part drives The Picture of Dorian Gray. Among many otherdefinitions, Wilde declared it "that deep spiritual affection thatis as pure as it is perfect. It dictates and pervades great worksof art like those of Shakespeare and Michaelangelo. . . . It is thenoblest form of affection." His words were rewarded, really toolate, with spontaneous courtroom applause. Yet the press exulted inWilde's demise: "The aesthetic cult," the News of the Worldproclaimed, "in its nasty form, is over."

From Camille Cauti's Introduction to The Picture of Dorian
Gray 
　　Perhaps the most salient episode of Wilde's life involved his
three infamous court trials in spring 1895. They captivated the
London press, much of which was only too happy to see Wilde, of
whom it had long been jealously suspicious, debased and finally
punished for his alleged crimes and for daring to live outside
Victorian social convention. The first trial, in early April 1895,
involved the author's libel suit against his lover Douglas's
father, the Marquess of Queensbury (before the trials, he was most
famous for formulating the Queensbury rules of boxing). Angry over
Wilde's alleged influence upon his son, Queensbury accused Wilde in
a note of being a "posing somdomite" (sic). Queensbury's defense
attorney even presented The Picture of Dorian Gray as an immoral,
perverted book and as one of the fifteen pleas for justification of
his client's claim (although the justice at Wilde's next trial
chose not to rule Dorian Gray as evidence of Wilde's crimes). Thus
the novel took on yet another role: involuntary accomplice to
Wilde's accuser. The libel suit was not resolved in Wilde's favor,
and during the proceedings Queensbury's defense provided enough
potential evidence of homosexuality to have Wilde tried under the
Criminal Law Amendment Act. Friends and associates urged Wilde to
flee the country, as other homosexuals on the verge of being outed
had done, but whether from stubbornness of his position or in
denial of his vulnerability, he remained in London and was arrested
on April 5, 1895. 
　　After two trials on charges of "committing acts of gross
indecency with male persons," Wilde ultimately was found guilty and
sentenced to the maximum penalty of two years in prison with hard
labor. He gave eloquent testimony on the stand to the legitimacy
of, as he called it, "the love that dare not speak its name," which
in large part drives The Picture of Dorian Gray. Among many other
definitions, Wilde declared it "that deep spiritual affection that
is as pure as it is perfect. It dictates and pervades great works
of art like those of Shakespeare and Michaelangelo. . . . It is the
noblest form of affection." His words were rewarded, really too
late, with spontaneous courtroom applause. Yet the press exulted in
Wilde's demise: "The aesthetic cult," the News of the World
proclaimed, "in its nasty form, is over." 
　　The details of Wilde's final five years, spent in prison and in
lonely exile, are tragic. The prison labor, which at first
primarily involved operating a treadmill for the equivalent of a
daily 6,000-foot ascent, physically broke Wilde. His creditors and
Queensbury had forced a bankruptcy sale of his property, and his
valuable, carefully collected possessions were sold and disbursed.
His wife, who had sought a divorce, died in 1898. He would never
again see his sons. From prison, Wilde composed, in the form of a
letter to Douglas, his apologia De Profundis (posthumously
published in 1905), whose Latin title means "Out of the Depths,"
and which takes its name and religious tenor from Psalm 130, which
reads, in part: "If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord,
who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou
mayest be feared." The probing, deeply religious nature of this
last work still did not bring about Wilde's Catholic conversion,
however. (Douglas would convert in 1911.) Unlike John Gray, Wilde
could not bring himself to use religion as a refuge from his
earthly problems. Wilde's conversion instead took place within the
last two days of his life, when desperate friends, the Catholic
Robbie Ross among them, who had long thought Wilde insincere when
he mentioned his desire to convert, brought in a local priest to
gauge Wilde's assent to the conversion and to administer Last
Rites. 
　　Appropriately, Wilde's last act was an assent to a final
ritual-in this case, one that symbolically sealed the senses that
had dictated his life-long self-creation. Wilde's only novel, over
the years many things to many people, continues to serve as a
symbol of its era. After experiencing it, a reader may want nothing
more than to override questions of genre and influence, when The
Picture of Dorian Gray itself tells us what it has been: "the type
of what the age is searching for, and what it is afraid it has
found."

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