The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde Reviews

Had the newly produced film not of been brought to my attention I'm certain that I would not of bothered to seek the book out. I wasn't actually aware that it was a novel before hand until I watched something about it on television. Initially I was surprised as to how small the plot line actually is. Dorian Gray is a young and ...  Read the complete review

I have just finished this book after years of feeling like it was one that I always should have read. I was not disappointed. Having studied The Importance of Being Earnest at College it was clear from Dorian Gray that Oscar Wilde had a very distinctive style and wit which is easy to read and understand. Charting the life of Dorian Gray ...  Read the complete review

Oscar Wilde's only full length novel The Picture Of Dorian Gray is set in late Victorian London and tells the story of a beautiful young man who never ages. He is however hiding a terrible secret - hidden in an unused school room is a portrait painted by his friend Basil Hallward which bears the consequence of Dorian's sins and grows older and ...  Read the complete review

I don't generally enjoy reading books from this period, but this novel has since become one of my favourites. I found, like most late 18th century novels, that at the beginning it was difficult to engage with the story and become involved. I think the author spent too much time describing the setting and the scenery. However, once I was in full ...  Read the complete review

Very challenging to begin with, although I can't explain whether this was primarily due to Oscar Wilde's writing style or getting to grip with the gentry from Victorian times. The novel seems to span a period of about 20 years although there were some serious jumps in time as nothing seemed to take that long. It wasn't until Dorian met a character ...  Read the complete review

It was with a little trepidation that I began to read 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' by Oscar Wilde. You see, I like to think of myself as a pretty intelligent human being and then the likes of Oscar Wilde and Stephen Fry come along and cause me to grin inanely while I pretend to know what they are talking about, when in actual fact my brain is ...  Read the complete review

This is one of my favourite books of all time. By the time you have read the first chapter you think you can smell the flowers in Basil Hallwards garden the book is so beautifully written. Basil who is a painter has fallen in love with his subject Dorian Grey. In Dorians final sitting Basils frind Lord Henry comes to visit and during ...  Read the complete review

If you were to think of the classic horror stories of the nineteenth century, I am sure you would be in mind of...say, Dracula or Doctor Jeckle and Mr Hyde. You will think the names Poe and Lovecraft. Some of you might even think of Oscar Wilde and 'The Picture of Dorian Grey.' Grey by the way seems to be spelt both as Grey and Gray! This is the ...  Read the complete review

I read 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' well over a year ago and have since recommended to all my friends and fellow English Literature students. It may be considered to be a relatively short book but I feel its tale of vanity and deception will stay with me for the rest of my life. The plot is simple, in fact one which could easily be for children, ...  Read the complete review

The Picture of Dorian Gray is by far one of the best books that I have ever read. I am a writer, and the clever use of words in this books astounds me, as well as the way that Oscar Wilde weaves description with emotions that every human being experiences in their lives. When I was younger, perhaps my understanding of the book was ...  Read the complete review

How wonderful would it be to never physically grow old? Sounds good does it not. Well that’s what Dorian Gray prays for when he sees his portrait completed by his friend and artist Basil. For every second he is now aging and will grow old and the picture will never age but always be perfect. Somehow Dorian’s prayer is answered (if only ...  Read the complete review

So many book, so little time. Compared with some I consider myself well-read, compared with the number of books on the market I feel I’m hardly literate. Rarely do I read a book a second time although I’ve got lots which would be worth it. Why have I decided to honour this novel with a second perusal? I read the German ...  Read the complete review

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ "It is the spectator, and not life that art really mirrors". ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ In "The Picture of Dorian Gray" the wonderful fop Oscar Wilde paints a bleak picture of the repellent side of human nature as the beautiful hero Dorian Gray ...  Read the complete review

This story first appeared in an American publication called "Lippincott's Monthly Magazine" in 1890. The novel was overwhelmingly condemned by British journals of the time because it failed to show "a single good and holy impulse in human nature" We first meet Dorian as a young man who has agreed to sit for the ...  Read the complete review

Different readers will carry away different memories of this not only famous but deservedly famous book, and the vivid description of the closing page will probably be high amongst them. For me, though, one of the most memorable things in it is something that is never properly described: the yellow book. And no, it's not *the* yellow book, or ...  Read the complete review

Dorian Gray is young, rich, and beautiful. He moves in London’s highest society circles, and has everything he wants. However, when he consents to sit as a model for painter Basil Hallward, little does he know that his life is about to change forever. Basil is fascinated by him, and finds his beauty almost overpowering. He paints Dorian as ...  Read the complete review

This novel is a philosophy book about the author's narcissistic anti-Victorian views and clever witticisms. Oh yeah, somewhere in there is a story about a man who makes a wish that his portrait would show his physical age and experiences, while he remains forever young and handsome. The wish comes true of course. There was incredible ...  Read the complete review

An attractive young bachelor on the fringes of London society. The perfect candidate for refined marriage, visits to the opera and regular dinner parties to which only the right people would have been invited. But an acquaintance with the flippant and maverick Lord Henry Wotton and the sensitive artist, Basil Hallward, brings Dorian Gray ...  Read the complete review