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The Picture of Dorian Gray
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<p><i>The Picture of Dorian Gray</i> is an 1890 <a href="/facts/Philosophical_fiction/QrLJ2jxC">philosophical fiction</a> and <a href="/facts/Gothic_fiction/98wXoS69">Gothic</a> <a href="/facts/Horror_fiction/vugIWsz8">horror</a> <a href="/facts/Novel/3Q8sXXLU">novel</a> by Irish writer <a href="/facts/Oscar_Wilde/fRCAnvGk">Oscar Wilde</a>. A shorter <a href="/facts/Novella/cXo83RDp">novella</a>-length version was published in the July 1890 issue of the American periodical <i><a href="/facts/Lippincott%2527s_Monthly_Magazine/0ChVDKrk">Lippincott's Monthly Magazine</a></i>, while the novel-length version was published in April 1891. Wilde's only novel, it is widely regarded as a <a href="/facts/Classic/GEGg2Whg">classic</a> of <a href="/facts/Gothic_literature/98wXoS69">Gothic literature</a>, having been <a href="/facts/Adaptations_of_The_Picture_of_Dorian_Gray/VBoAaFJs">adapted</a> for screen, stage, plays, and other forms of art performance. </p><p>The story revolves around a <a href="/facts/Oil_painting/rxn2lg9o">portrait</a> of <a href="/facts/Dorian_Gray_(character)/vkG6jH6d">Dorian Gray</a> painted by Basil Hallward, a friend of Dorian's and an artist infatuated with Dorian's <a href="/facts/Aesthetics/FSD8f7oF">beauty</a>. Through Basil, Dorian meets Lord Henry Wotton and is soon enthralled by the aristocrat's <a href="/facts/Hedonistic/AGw0FGFN">hedonistic</a> worldview: that beauty and sensual fulfilment are the only things worth pursuing in life. Knowing that he will lose his beauty with time, Dorian impulsively chooses to <a href="/facts/Sell_his_soul/jYWaQRKT">sell his soul</a> and asks for the portrait, rather than himself, to age and fade. His wish granted, Dorian pursues a <a href="/facts/Libertine/B2Xc5X5P">libertine</a> life of varied immoral experiences while staying young and beautiful; all the while, his portrait ages and visually records every one of Dorian's <a href="/facts/Sin/hcWqMsIt">sins</a>. The book was initially subjected to much controversy and criticism in its time. Since then, it has come to be recognised as Wilde's best-known publication. </p>