Oscar Wilde

The Picture of Dorian Gray Oscar Wilde

Jacket Description/Back: Spellbound before his own portrait, Dorian Gray utters a fateful wish. In exchange for eternal youth he gives his soul, to be corrupted by the malign influence of his mentor, the aesthete and hedonist Lord Henry Wotton. The novel was met with moral outrage by contemporary critics who, dazzled perhaps by Wilde's brilliant style, may have confused the author with his creation, Lord Henry, to whom even Dorian protests, 'You cut life to pieces with your epigrams.'. Encouraged by Lord Henry to substitute pleasure for goodness and art for reality, Dorian tries to watch impassively as he brings misery and death to those who love him. But the picture is watching him, and, made hideous by the marks of sin, it confronts Dorian with the reflection of his fall from grace, the silent bearer of what is in effect a devastating moral judgement. Marc Notes: CD/MP3 player or PC with MP3-capable software.; Unabridged reading by Michael Page of the 1891 book. Publisher Marketing: The tale of a youth whose features, year after year, retain the same appearance of innocent beauty while the shame of his abhorrent vices becomes mirrored on the features of his portrait. Review Citations:

School Library Journal 11/01/2009 pg. 138 (EAN 9781602706804, Library Binding)

Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2010 pg. 65 (EAN 9781602706804, Library Binding)

People Weekly 07/21/2008 pg. 57 (EAN 9780809599943, Paperback)

Booklist 05/15/2001 pg. 1746 (EAN 9780670894956, Paperback)

School Library Journal 08/01/2001 pg. 190 (EAN 9780670894956, Paperback)

Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2001 pg. 327 (EAN 9780670894956, Paperback)

Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2001 pg. 327 (EAN 9780670894956, Paperback)

Booklist 05/15/2001 pg. 1746 (EAN 9780670894949, Hardcover)

School Library Journal 08/01/2001 pg. 190 (EAN 9780670894949, Hardcover)

Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2001 pg. 327 (EAN 9780670894949, Hardcover)

Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2001 pg. 327 (EAN 9780670894949, Hardcover)

Ingram Paperback Advance 09/01/1999 pg. 17 (EAN 9780812567113, Mass Market Paperbound)

Library Journal 10/01/1998 pg. 141 (EAN 9781551111261, Paperback)

Wilson Fiction Catalog 01/01/1995 pg. 701 (EAN 9780394605142, Hardcover)

Publishers Weekly 04/04/2011 (EAN 9780674057920, Hardcover) - *Starred Review

Library Journal 05/01/2011 pg. 84 (EAN 9780674057920, Hardcover)

Books & Culture 07/01/2011 pg. 35 (EAN 9780674057920, Hardcover)

Entertainment Weekly 12/11/2009 pg. 119 (EAN 9780141442464, Hardcover)

Contributor Bio:  Wilde, Oscar Oscar Wilde was a Victorian-era British author and playwright. In his youth, Wilde became attached to the Aesthetic Movement, which emphasized the appreciation of the aesthetic value of cultural creations above social or political purposes, and this philosophy influenced his work throughout his career. The themes of art and beauty are particularly present in his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, , and in his two most popular dramatic works, An Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Earnest. A quarrel with the Marquess of Queensberry, the father of Wilde s lover, Lord Alfred, resulted in Wilde s arrest and imprisonment for gross indecency. Wilde died in 1900, penniless and in exile, as a result of cerebral meningitis contracted while in prison. Contributor Bio:  Page, Michael Michael Page has been recording audiobooks since 1984 and has over two hundred titles to his credit. He has won several "AudioFile" Earphones Awards, including for "The War That Killed Achilles" by Caroline Alexander and "The Lies of Locke Lamora" by Scott Lynch.