Oscar Wilde - The Picture of Dorian Gray
Jan 20th, 2008 by Bauman
“Leave My Book, I Beg You, To The Immortality That It Deserves” - Oscar Wilde
When The Picture of Dorian Gray first appeared in Lippincott’s simultaneously in Philadelphia and London, on June 20, 1890, the story sparked a sensation. “No novel had commanded so much attention for years, or awakened sentiments so contradictory in its readers” (Ellman, 323).
Since Oscar wrote Dorian Gray,” his wife said, “no one will speak to us.” Many critics attacked the work for being immoral, to which Wilde responded, “Leave my book, I beg you, to the immortality that it deserves” (Mason 328). But he also substantially revised the work for book publication, adding six new chapters.
In addition, he composed a series of aphorisms about art and morality - many of which are now famous in their own right, such as “There is no such thing as a moral or immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That’s all. He published these separately in The Fortnightly Review and then again as a Preface to Dorian Gray when it was published in book form. We offer a lovely copy of the first authorized book publication, in the original vellum binding.