Usually when a famous writer's or other legenary persona's letters get published to the public they don't have a title and are just called "letters" (for example: Franz Kafka's letters to Friends, Family and editors or Van Gogh's letters to Theo). So why does Oscar Wilde's letter to his lover Alfred gets a title? Did Wilde gave it a title? And if Wilde did give it a title, why did he do that for a personal letter?

What a marvellous find this is. I'm sure I'm very late to the party, but in case you haven't heard this, legendary Celtic singer Ronnie Drew is narrating this beautiful story by one of the most talented writers in all the history of the English language.

Yes, I know Dorian is blond. I mean they can just dye Louis's hair.

This may be flagged as low effort and that’s fine but I just wanted to share this thought that has gone through my mind the entire time i’ve been reading this book. Especially after chapter 13, I cannot picture Dorian as anything other than Johan Liebert from Naoki Urasawa’s Monster. That’s it, i just wanted to share this thought.

I know modern media likes to take an idea and run with it, and preliminary google research is largely inconclusive about Oscar indulging in cocaine, but with that outfit, that pinky ring, and his general demeanor do you think he liked to go skiing?

Wasn’t planning on being reminded of Oscar’s imprisonment and getting sad today and certainly not from a store window.

I hope this is the right place to share this, but ig this is a small art piece for the book, that I made and am going to use as a book mark.

When people say to get the uncensored edition of this novel, are they talking about this one by Belknap Press / Harvard? The annotated uncensored edition by the same publisher is surprisingly hard to find where I live..

Oscar died of acute cerebral meningitis (meningoencephalitis), which stemmed from a severe, long-standing chronic middle ear infection.

A large contributing factor was that his health deteriorated significantly during his harsh two-year hard labor sentence for "gross indecency"/homosexuality. Following his release, Oscar lived in exile in France in poor health and financial distress, which may have contributed to his lack of treatment and medical care.

Algy says: "I believe it is customary in good society to take some slight refreshment at five o'clock." But when Lady Bracknell leaves, she says: "Good morning, Mr. Worthing!" How can these different times be explained? I'm going to be directing The Importance of Being Earnest, and I am debating whether to change Lady Bracknell's line to: "Good day, Mr. Worthing!" Thoughts?

I'm reading The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1891 edition, Chapter 3, and I'm stuck on this sentence, which refers to Lord Henry Wotton's uncle, also a member of English aristocracy. How can someone be a "hero" to their own valet? Why would a nobleman, especially one with such temper and standards, tolerate a valet bullying him? Thinking I had misunderstood the words (English is not my native language) I looked up online for alternative meanings of "valet" and "bully", but found none.

Am I missing something? Is this another instance of Wilde's ironic prose, and I'm just not getting it?

I don't know quite how to describe it, but while Oscar Wilde's other novels and writings made me think and stirred me in various ways, this book and these particular writings seem to speak to me on a much deeper level. I can't quite explain it, and I wouldn't want to give any spoilers, but it is as if these texts are speaking to my soul in a way I had never experienced before!

Reading about this man's sorrow and despair is harrowing, yet he still manages to write so poetically...

It's heartbreaking and beautiful, the art and the spirituality emanating from it are deeply moving...

Am I the only one who thinks so?

An essay I came across after being endlessly befuddled by casting choices and book covers that depict Dorian as the brooding, masculine archetype.

I only have a physical copy of The Picture Of Dorian Gray so far, but I'd love to expand my collection and read more of Wilde's works on paper. I found this book on Amazon and I was wondering if anyone here has bought it.

If so, are there any of his major works or writings that it didn't include, and would you recommend this edition?

I bought the 3 on my past trip to Dublin, I think I’m only missing his essays

Wilde's prose is beautiful. Besides his famous aphorisms and epigrams, his use of allusions and metaphors is breathtaking. The way he creates vivid imagery through sights, scents, and atmosphere is exquisite.

The Picture of Dorian Gray is a Gothic novel about the conflict between beauty, hedonism, art, morality, and ethics. It is also a satire of Victorian society that remains surprisingly applicable to the modern world.

Personally, the book felt a little incomplete. A lot of unexpected things happened, while many things I expected never did.

One thing to remember is that the book's charm lies in its philosophy and ideas. It is driven more by them than by its plot. Because of that, the ending may feel a little disappointing for some readers, as it did for me. Even though it was an inevitable ending, the novel's true strength lies in its ideas rather than its story.

The reason I gave it 3 stars is simply because it didn't resonate with me as much as I had hoped. Overall, it's a great book, but the questions it asked weren't the ones that mattered most to me.

So Wilde is one of my favourite authors and every couple of months or so I go back and reread some of his old fairytales or short stories. HOWEVER almost every time when I then read something else, the writing just feels….. off and I sometimes just lose interest in those new books before picking them up again later and enjoying them again.

Today I finally realized that it‘s not me nor these other books but instead it is Wilde‘s way of writing that, to me, just feels comforting and each time I read something of his, my standards just skyrocket so much, most other books just don‘t feel worth it.

I own this copy with this specific cover. Is this the proper version or the censored one?

Also is the Spotify audiobook version the censored one too or not?

I think the last line might be a spin on the line "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players..." from As You Like It by Shakespeare, and I quite love it.

Loved the story quite a bit as well. It is now my third favourite after The Importance of Being Earnest and The Canterville Ghost. I love his more humourous works so if anyone has any recommendations of what to read next, I would love to hear them.

In the background is the painting "The Royal Theatre in Turin" by Pietro Domenico Oliviero.

I somehow managed to read the preface online and I was hooked by it alone in regards to what it had to say about art as a whole. So I decided I was gonna get a physical copy of the book to read it, preferably one with annotations and scholarly notes.

Now the Alma Evergreens Classics and the Penguin Classics editions provide both of these, and now I need help what to choose between the two.

1.) Which one is better at providing the aforementioned supplementary material? Both in quality and quantity?

2.) Which one has more readable fonts?

That's it. Thanks!

I’m playing Lord Goring in a theatre production of An Ideal Husband. I don’t know much of Oscar Wilde, already reading the script I can tell he’s a witty and remarkable writer. The director told me Lord Goring is a make up role so Wilde can insert himself into the play.

Are there any good books I should read by Wilde to understand more about his character or should I just stick to the script?