Name: The Uncensored Picture of Dorian Gray
ISBN: 9780674071896

Oscar Wilde

Nicholas Frankel

Over 120 years after Oscar Wilde submitted The Picture of Dorian Gray for publication, the uncensored version of his novel appears here for the first time in a paperback edition. This volume restores material, including instances of graphic homosexual content, removed by the novel’s first editor, who feared it would be “offensive” to Victorians.

The Uncensored Picture of Dorian Gray

Cici Pearson

Madeleine 

"Just turn your head a little more to the right, Dorian, like a good boy;" said Hallward, deep in his work, and conscious only that a look had come into the lad's face that he had never seen there before.

"Ah, my dear Basil, that is exactly why I can feel it. Those who are faithful know only the pleasures of love; it is the faithless who know love’s tragedies."

Victoria

He felt that Dorian Gray would never again be to him all that he had been in the past

The girl never really lived, and so she has never really died

There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about

The reason I will not exhibit this picture is that I am afraid that I have shown with it the secret of my own soul.

every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter. The sitter is merely the accident, the occasion. It is not he who is revealed by the painter; it is rather the painter who, on the coloured canvas, reveals himself.

I knew that if I spoke to Dorian I would become absolutely devoted to him

I have given away my whole soul to some one who treats it as if it were a flower to put in his coat, a bit of decoration to charm his vanity, an ornament for a summer’s day.

I find a strange pleasure in saying things to him that I know I shall be sorry for having said. I give myself away.

Words! Mere words! How terrible they were! How clear, and vivid, and cruel! One could not escape from them. And yet what a subtle magic there was in them

Don’t take away from me the one person that makes life absolutely lovely to me and that gives to my art whatever wonder or charm it possesses

As long as I live, the personality of Dorian Gray will dominate me

You know more than you think you know, just as you know less than you want to know.

She was always in love with somebody, and, as her passion was never returned, she had kept all her illusions

When one is in love, one always begins by deceiving oneself, and one always ends by deceiving others.

It was delightful to watch him. With his beautiful face, and his beautiful soul, he was a thing to wonder at

People are very fond of giving away what they need most themselves

More than 120 years after Oscar Wilde submitted The Picture of Dorian Gray for publication in Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine, the uncensored version of his novel appears here for the first time in a paperback edition. This volume restores all of the material removed by the novel’s first editor.

The uncensored picture of Dorian Gray

one of my most beloved books ever, I love every sentence, every letter here. I am home. Poor Basil makes me cry every time.

ラップの神 del ray🗡🐸

Daniel U

« there is a luxury in self reproach. when we blame ourselves we feel that no one else has a right to blame us. it is the confession not the priest that gives us absolution. »

this reminded me of why dorian gray has been one of my favourite books since i was a teenager. oscar wilde has a wonderful way with words that just made me fly through this book, and it wasn't because i already knew the story by heart but because his prose is some of the best i have read in my life.

i will say that i am very grateful that i got to read this copy because ugh! i love beautiful words and beautiful confessions!! basil hayward, you have never done anything wrong in your life, ever. 

my biggest question in life is: will we ever have a good and accurate dorian gray adaptation or is hollywood too cowardly? (the answer is yes)

but all jokes aside, i started this this morning and only got through the introductions so i could start the actual story on the train and just... absolutely flew through it and was finished by the time i got home. yeah, this hasn't lost its spot in my favourites.

florine

« there is a luxury in self reproach. when we blame ourselves we feel that no one else has a right to blame us. it is the confession not the priest that gives us absolution. »

this reminded me of why dorian gray has been one of my favourite books since i was a teenager. oscar wilde has a wonderful way with words that just made me fly through this book, and it wasn't because i already knew the story by heart but because his prose is some of the best i have read in my life.

i will say that i am very grateful that i got to read this copy because ugh! i love beautiful words and beautiful confessions!! basil hayward, you have never done anything wrong in your life, ever. 

my biggest question in life is: will we ever have a good and accurate dorian gray adaptation or is hollywood too cowardly? (the answer is yes)

but all jokes aside, i started this this morning and only got through the introductions so i could start the actual story on the train and just... absolutely flew through it and was finished by the time i got home. yeah, this hasn't lost its spot in my favourites.

I wanted to try and read more classics this year and figured I’d start with this one because so many people I know love it, and I value their opinions. So this was … ok. I was mostly intrigued by the fantastical element of it, but that’s about it. The long winded monologues by annoying men threw me off. I simply cannot believe that this  blonde haired, blue eyed man was the apple of everyone’s eye — especially when paired with who is on the cover. Like let’s be serious for a second. Everything about the characters seemed too theatrical and overdone in a way that made it hard for me to connect with anyone. I understand the “point” of the novel; it was a very long winded fable like when we were kids, but it was kind of just ‘eh’ for me. Also, why was Ch 11 even there? Also AGAIN — I was under the impression that this story was a lot gayer than it was, so my expectations just simply were not met. But like I said before, the thing saving it and making it a 3 star instead of 2 is the magical element.

Nik ✨

bella <3

Oscar Wilde is a reminder of the unchanging nature of man. That even as we face ourselves in the mirror we refuse to see the shameful arrogant grim hidden beneath.

As decades go by the book accomplishes its purpose by being forgotten. Locked somewhere like our most ambitious dreams, needed to be forgotten to keep insanity at bay.

Ray Remnant

Oscar Wilde is a reminder of the unchanging nature of man. That even as we face ourselves in the mirror we refuse to see the shameful arrogant grim hidden beneath.

As decades go by the book accomplishes its purpose by being forgotten. Locked somewhere like our most ambitious dreams, needed to be forgotten to keep insanity at bay.

Jaden Nelson

Review on April 2020 reread—So it turns out that I was wrong about remembering there being a character her who wanders into a crack den in this book? Also I forgot how sudden the ending is. I made many notes and highlights in my kindle copy this time, and most of them further enforce how much I love lord Henry’s character. He is the most horrible influence and everything he says is very profound but in the most insulting way, and I it’s incredibly entertaining to read. I wanted more of the “rich life” in this book with servants running around and your staff cooking you a meal for your dinner party and such. I think I liked the book more this time around, so I will maybe bump it up to 4 stars. Definitely not a 5 star read, but it’s one of the better classics I’ve read—both morally and intellectually valuable while also being entertaining and timeless. That’s all—hopefully I remember to share my kindle highlights. Oh yeah, I read the uncensored/unedited version because it was supposedly so much more true to Wilde as an artist but it was like almost exactly the same except for the wording of a few things.

While the censored version is already a masterpiece, this uncensored version including the love confession of Basil surpassed it. Beautiful with a lot of relatable quotes even 132 years later. My favorite classic of all time, recommending it to everyone who wants to get into classics (apart from that chapter where he explains gray's obsession, that one was just hard to push through) 

ally

The superior version. Such a great read when it’s in its intended condition and not doctored within an inch of its life 

Jacque

i don’t know if this is particular to the uncensored version or not, but there were so many things in this book i simply didn’t care about and was forced to read through because what if it was important, right? i’m the kind of person who doesn’t like skim-reading or skipping chunks of paragraphs; i love giving a book my full, undivided attention because i’m a believer that the essence of a book, a story, can be found in its every nook and cranny. but, while that was the case for some of the admittedly long and seemingly never-ending dialogues in this book, it also didn’t apply to everything, as is to be expected. this makes me think of how truly important an editor’s job can be. i’m sure i would’ve thoroughly enjoyed the book hadn’t it been for the unnecessary bits i struggled so much to get through. the story is compelling, some the dialogue incredible and thought-provoking in the best way possible; even now, a week after i finished it, some quotes still remain engraved deep in my brain, most of them coming from the unlikeable, devil-like lord henry. it’s a good story about temptation and sin and the heaviness of our burdens in our souls even if we can’t physically see them. in dorian’s case, he has the representation of his picture. it also says a lot about human nature, a critique in my opinion: how, if given the freedom to do what we want without consequences, we won’t hesitate to become twisted and tainted with blood. in a way, with its characters, the uncensored picture of dorian gray sets up a story of contradictions, a paradox of sorts: lord henry being represented by sin and apparent freedom and uncanniness, basil being represented by his good nature and big heart and his desire to help even after the cause has clearly been lost; and dorian, an in-between factor with the ability to get influenced by any of the two. unsurprisingly, because evil and sin and darkness has a certain allure to it, seems fun and freeing, that’s what he choses. he disregards basil, becomes closer to lord henry, and digs his own grave. the ending is spectacular, probably my favorite part of the whole book. i wouldn’t call it an open ending but rather one up to interpretation. no, in my head, it’s not the same. because the reader, going from there, is driven to finish the tale with their own words and ideas. and i finished mine. overall, this book wasn’t a bad read. simply a little too full and unedited which, really, i should’ve expected by the uncensored in the title. this is a previous manuscript from the one eventually published. i might, someday, read the original version and see if i like it better or worse.

lena

Deyana

Flowery and lovely prose, aesthetic and decadent images--what more could I ask for? Call it narcissism, call it naivety, but I adore this tragically beautiful novel.

this is the only version of dorian grey i've ever read and i'm glad

Joyce

Mael

took me a while to finish it bc i was caught up with work but amazinggg ! literally devoured the 30 last pages at the beach, beautiful beautiful book.

Anna with an A

This is one of my favorite books ever /first book I read in English so it will always have a spetial place in my heart. That was a yearly reread, but I read uncensored version for the first time. Totally worth it! 

Floofyflower

I read the edited version last year and honestly did not like it. I understood the significance of the classic novel, but that version seemed choppy and disconnected. 

This version, however, makes much more sense. I feel like the story and the characters connected more and the plot wasn’t disjointed. The prose is beautiful. I liked this version more, but the long-winded paragraphs tended to make me zone out. I’m the kind of reader that needs paragraph breaks, and this book didn’t have many of those. Overall this version is superior, so if you are interested in the story be sure to pick up this edition. 

The Uncensored Picture of Dorian Gray

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