The Picture of Dorian Gray

In true Faustian tradition The Picture of Dorian Gray tells the tale of a young man who sells his soul to the devil in return for youthful immortality, only to discover that the devil's bargain is no bargain at all. What does it profit a man if he gain

Irish author Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) was an exponent of aestheticism, and believed that art and literature should aim at beauty and pleasure more than reforming or educating the people. The writer's imagination was more important to him than the social relevance of the work. Wilde was censured and later imprisoned for his illicit relationship with Lord Alfred Douglas. Unable to revive his creative skills, broken and bankrupt, he died of cerebral meningitis at the young age of forty-six.

Joseph Pearce is the author of numerous literary works including Literary Converts, The Quest for Shakespeare and Shakespeare on Love, and the editor of the Ignatius Critical Editions series. His other books include literary biographies of Oscar Wilde, J.R.R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, G. K. Chesterton and Alexander Solzhenitsyn.