Genre: Philosophical fiction, Gothic novel.
Key Stage: KS4+
Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Picture of Dorian Grey, Oscar Wilde (1890)
Plot: The story follows the life of a young, beautiful, wealthy man named Dorian Grey, who makes a wish (or deal with the devil) to preserve his beauty forever, selling his soul to stay eternally young and beautiful, and for the portrait to age rather than him.
He is slowly corrupted by a man called Lord Henry Wotton, who teaches him live for pleasure and experiences, rather than morals, as ennui is the greatest sin. As Dorian grows more corrupt, the picture becomes more corrupted and continues to age rather than him. Becoming more and more paranoid, he does whatever he believes he must to preserve his secret. In the end, he destroys the portrait in an attempt to set himself on a good path.
In my opinion, this is a very intricate read with a lot of deeper meaning and explores the conflict between aestheticism and morality in depth quite well. It is a must-read classic novel.
Reviewer: Yusuf, Year 12