The Picture of Dorian Gray - Unabridged

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) was an Irish poet, novelist and playwright. Born to a pair of Anglo-Irish intellectuals in Dublin, Wilde attended Trinity College in Dublin and then transferred to Oxford to complete his studies. After graduation, Wilde moved to London to begin life as one of his era's most important and infamous social and literary figures.Wilde almost immediately became a fixture in London high society, celebrated for his intellect and his razor-sharp wit. Unsure of what kind of writer he wanted to be, Wilde wrote poetry and traveled to America as a lecturer on aestheticism (an art movement that celebrated the simple beauty of art over the deeper or political themes behind it). His many essays and dialogues on this subject would eventually lead him to publish his first and only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray in 1890.Eventually, Wilde was drawn to write for the stage, beginning with Salome in 1891, but swiftly transitioning to comedies, penning four of the era's most celebrated and enduring plays, including his triumph: The Importance of Being Ernest, which was still running in London when Wilde became embroiled in the legal drama that would lead to his downfall and eventual death. In 1895, Wilde was engaged in a love affair with a young aristocrat, Lord Alfred Douglas. When Douglas' father accused Wilde of impropriety in a letter, Wilde sued him for libel. During the trial, evidence was presented that proved Wilde was a homosexual and, after the libel charges were dropped, Wilde was immediately arrested and tried for "gross indecency." After two trials, Wilde was found guilty and sentenced to prison from 1895 to 1897.Prison proved to be disastrous to Wilde's health. After his release, Wilde fled to France where he would die of meningitis in 1900. But his poems, plays and sole novel live on and Wilde is now considered one of the most accomplished writers of his era. His works continue to be performed around the world and have been adapted multiple times to the stage and screen.