Read this when
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Imagine your camera roll aging for you while you stay filtered forever. Dorian tried it. 🖼️
Who it's for
The portrait is a vivid externalised conscience: every cruelty shows on the painting while Dorian's face stays flawless, which gives readers an image for the gap between a curated image and a private self.
Feelings it meets
What it is
Oscar Wilde's only novel, first published in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in 1890 and expanded into a book in 1891. In Victorian England, the artist Basil Hallward paints a portrait of the beautiful young Dorian Gray, who falls under the influence of the cynical aristocrat Lord Henry Wotton and his creed that beauty and pleasure are all that matter.
Where to find it
Public domain in the US; free on Project Gutenberg and Standard Ebooks. In print, from libraries, and as an audiobook.
Before you start
Heads up: A young woman's suicide and a murder.
Age: Ages 14+
Out, damned spot! out, I say!William Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 1
