Original cover page for Lippincott's Monthly containing Dorian Grey
On this date in 1897, Oscar Wilde, famed Irish author of The Picture of Dorian Gray and numerous other works, was released from prison after 2 years of hard labor. Wilde was charged and sentenced for homosexuality, considered a crime in Victorian England. Because of his treatment in England for his sexual preference, Wilde fled to Paris, where he died three years later of meningitis.
Most readers are probably familiar with Wilde’s novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. The premise of this work surrounds the characters of Dorian Gray, the artist Basil Hallward and Lord Henry Wotton. Hallward is commissioned to paint a portrait of Gray. Through his contact with Gray, Hallward becomes infatuated with Gray’s character and striking good looks. After meeting Lord Henry, Gray embarks into a new world of hedonism, leading to Gray selling his soul to the Devil to ensure that the portrait of himself aged but his physical body did not, ensuring his immortality. The portrait stands as a reminder to Gray of his sins of debauchery and hedonism, a picture of his tortured soul for all eternity. Read more »
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