PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY ~ BY OSCAR WILDE ~ FOLIO SOCIETY

� NO RISK PURCHASE! See Below... THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAYby OSCAR WILDE ‘Oh, if it were only the other way! If the picture could change, and I could be always what I am now! Why did you paint it? It will mock me some day – mock me horribly!’ Oscar Wilde’s tale of the young man who sells his soul for eternal youth is one of the best-loved classics of the 19th century; its central image of the ageing portrait one of the most famous in all literature. When Dorian Gray first sees his likeness, painted by Basil Hallward, he is awestruck by its beauty. Influenced by the cynical Lord Henry Wotton, Dorian makes a wish: that the portrait might age instead of him. His wish is granted, but at a terrible price. Dorian sinks ever deeper into an existence of decadence and corruption, while his beauty remains unchanged. Only the picture he keeps concealed reveals the true state of his soul. Written in Wilde’s characteristically dazzling style, The Picture of Dorian Gray contains some of his most brilliant epigrams: ‘There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about’;‘The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it’; ‘Anybody can be good in the country’. Its themes are quintessentially Wildean yet wholly relevant today: the importance of art, the hypocrisy of society and the difference between morality and respectability. With its story of a hidden life of unspeakable sin, The Picture of Dorian Gray caused such a scandal when it first appeared in 1890 that its publication triggered the disastrous decline of Wilde’s reputation in society. At its heart however, is a brilliant gothic fable, with echoes of Faust and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. In a newly commissioned introduction, actor, writer and director Simon Callow reveals the novel’s ‘inescapable echoes of its author’s life’ and shows how it ‘continues to haunt the 21st-century imagination’. ‘A novel that is iridescent with paradox … wit and effortless display’ PETER ACKROYD� A physical description follows... Founded in 1947, The Folio Society applies the highest standards of design, binding, typography and illustration to commercially-produced books. Nearly sixty years on, they publish books that will stand the test of time, in handsome, imaginatively designed and beautifully made editions - a combination of quality and value that few publishers can match. Care and attention is devoted to every detail of the physical attributes of each book. Exacting standards require that every one has a proper sewn binding and comes in a protective slipcase. A wide range of binding materials are employed, from buckram, silk, leather and hand-marbled papers to traditional woven cloth. We choose from a selection of legible and elegant typefaces, seeking to preserve their character through a combination of modern and traditional printing techniques. DESIGN - Above all, the feature that distinguishes folio books from most others produced today is the rich variety and sophistication of the binding designs. A wide range of traditional materials - such as buckram, cotton, silk or leather - is employed for the bindings. These costly fabrics are the foundation upon which the artists and designers produce their creations. Sometimes their designs are printed in ink, but more often they are blocked - that is to say, impressed with foil into the surface of the material; frequently the two processes are employed together. BINDING - All books are sewn in 16-page sections: this gives strength to the book and enables the pages to be opened flat with ease. There are decorative head- and tailbands; many have gilded or colored top edges where they feel they are appropriate. The endpapers, in a wide array of colours, are often printed with maps, illustrations or other designs. Most important of all, the books are hardback-bound to the highest standard, so that they not only look well on the shelves but are always a pleasure to open and read. PAPER & TYPOGRAPHY - In the typography of Folio books the traditional virtues of legibil... read more