The Picture of Dorian Gray and Other Writings (Bantam Classics)
Registered by 
glade1
of McLeansville, North Carolina USA on 10/11/2013
This book is in a Controlled Release!
glade1 of McLeansville, North Carolina USA on 10/11/2013 This book is in a Controlled Release!
1 journaler for this copy...
Picked up at the Salvation Army store a couple of days ago. I've never read any of Wilde's work. From the back cover:
Flamboyant and controversial, Oscar Wilde was a dazzling personality, a master of wit, and a dramatic genius whose sparkling comedies contain some of the most brilliant dialogue ever written for the English stage.
Here in one volume are his immensely popular novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray; his last literary work, “The Ballad of Reading Gaol,” a product of his own prison experience; and four complete plays: Lady Windermere’s Fan, his first dramatic success, An Ideal Husband, which pokes fun at conventional morality, The Importance of Being Earnest, his finest comedy, and Salomé, a portrait of uncontrollable love originally written in French and faithfully translated by Richard Ellmann.
Every selection appears in its entirety–a marvelous collection of outstanding works by the incomparable Oscar Wilde, who’s been aptly called “a lord of language” by Max Beerbohm.
ETA 4-17: Promised to devon612 in the Wish List Tag game.
Flamboyant and controversial, Oscar Wilde was a dazzling personality, a master of wit, and a dramatic genius whose sparkling comedies contain some of the most brilliant dialogue ever written for the English stage.
Here in one volume are his immensely popular novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray; his last literary work, “The Ballad of Reading Gaol,” a product of his own prison experience; and four complete plays: Lady Windermere’s Fan, his first dramatic success, An Ideal Husband, which pokes fun at conventional morality, The Importance of Being Earnest, his finest comedy, and Salomé, a portrait of uncontrollable love originally written in French and faithfully translated by Richard Ellmann.
Every selection appears in its entirety–a marvelous collection of outstanding works by the incomparable Oscar Wilde, who’s been aptly called “a lord of language” by Max Beerbohm.
ETA 4-17: Promised to devon612 in the Wish List Tag game.
I had not read any Oscar Wilde before this book but knew him to be very witty from the various quotations I had read. I also knew about his imprisonment, mainly due to this NPR story: http://www.npr.org/2016/10/20/498715561/reading-gaol-where-oscar-wilde-was-imprisoned-unlocks-its-gates-for-art
Of The Picture of Dorian Gray, I only knew it was a story about a man whose portrait ages instead of his body. And I was not even aware of the plays in this collection (Salome, An Ideal Husband, and The Importance of Being Earnest [I had heard of this one but did not associate it with Wilde]). So this book was an education for me.
The Picture of Dorian Gray was both more and less than I expected. Less because it is shorter and simpler than I had anticipated - the story is easy to explain and has a fairly simple plot: the beautiful young man prays to have the portrait age rather than himself and his wish comes true. But more because I didn't realize that the portrait was not only a record of Gray's age but also a surrogate for his conscience; the first changes in the portrait are changes in character that reflect his sins, not his age. Dorian embarks on a life of sensual pleasure and intellectual investigation and pays no heed to any consequences of his actions. His portrait bears all the weight of his misdeeds.
I understand that there is a more recently published annotated version of the novel and I would like to read that someday. I felt that I missed a great deal by not being well versed in late 19th-Century culture, London geography, or all the classical stories Wilde mentions. There are some passages that might as well be written in another language for all I understand the cultural and artistic references. I'm clearly not as well-educated as I like to think! I was longing for annotations and footnotes! I believe I may have missed much of the depth and symbolism of the story.
The plays in the book were all new to me, and I found The Importance of Being Earnest to be the most entertaining of those. I would like to see that one especially, but all of them really, performed on stage; I'm sure that would give me greater appreciation of Wilde's facility with language.
The book ends with "The Ballad of Reading Gaol," which is a somber and beautiful study on life in prison. I was surprised to see so much serious religious reference in this work, as I would not have thought Wilde would be the religious sort, although I do not know enough about him to be confident in that opinion.
Overall, I am glad I read this collection but was not blown away by it. I understand Dorian Gray, particularly, had a great and controversial impact upon its release but it seems fairly tame and predictable today, as do the plays, with the exception of Salome. I appreciate the author's way with words and his wit, but will not list him among my favorite writers.
Need to make sure I have devon612's address and get this moving.
Of The Picture of Dorian Gray, I only knew it was a story about a man whose portrait ages instead of his body. And I was not even aware of the plays in this collection (Salome, An Ideal Husband, and The Importance of Being Earnest [I had heard of this one but did not associate it with Wilde]). So this book was an education for me.
The Picture of Dorian Gray was both more and less than I expected. Less because it is shorter and simpler than I had anticipated - the story is easy to explain and has a fairly simple plot: the beautiful young man prays to have the portrait age rather than himself and his wish comes true. But more because I didn't realize that the portrait was not only a record of Gray's age but also a surrogate for his conscience; the first changes in the portrait are changes in character that reflect his sins, not his age. Dorian embarks on a life of sensual pleasure and intellectual investigation and pays no heed to any consequences of his actions. His portrait bears all the weight of his misdeeds.
I understand that there is a more recently published annotated version of the novel and I would like to read that someday. I felt that I missed a great deal by not being well versed in late 19th-Century culture, London geography, or all the classical stories Wilde mentions. There are some passages that might as well be written in another language for all I understand the cultural and artistic references. I'm clearly not as well-educated as I like to think! I was longing for annotations and footnotes! I believe I may have missed much of the depth and symbolism of the story.
The plays in the book were all new to me, and I found The Importance of Being Earnest to be the most entertaining of those. I would like to see that one especially, but all of them really, performed on stage; I'm sure that would give me greater appreciation of Wilde's facility with language.
The book ends with "The Ballad of Reading Gaol," which is a somber and beautiful study on life in prison. I was surprised to see so much serious religious reference in this work, as I would not have thought Wilde would be the religious sort, although I do not know enough about him to be confident in that opinion.
Overall, I am glad I read this collection but was not blown away by it. I understand Dorian Gray, particularly, had a great and controversial impact upon its release but it seems fairly tame and predictable today, as do the plays, with the exception of Salome. I appreciate the author's way with words and his wit, but will not list him among my favorite writers.
Need to make sure I have devon612's address and get this moving.
Sent to devon612 via Media Mail as part of the Wish List Tag game. Enjoy!
