The Picture of Dorian Gray (Chiltern Classic) Hardcover – September 8, 2020

The book's appearance is accurate to the item description. This is a pretty green and gold hardcover version, and looks amazing in person. It's a very classy addition to any library or collection, and made for a great Christmas gift. In my case, I'll be buying a second one for myself because this edition is so lovely in person. This hardcover edition is absolutely worth buying due to the better quality of this book (compared to a generic softcover print) and the price is amazing for what you get. This is a classic worth getting for yourself and your friends.

When you think you know the plot of a book - spoiler! - painting ages, man does not - then actually read said book. Egads. I shan't use that reference again, for beautiful, eternally young Dorian is a right selfish git.Part of the beauty of Oscar Wilde is his immense quotability, quips ready for so many of life's moments, sly, cynical and perfect for any era. Some of them are unexpectedly lovely:"When I like people immensely I never tell their names to anyone. It is like surrendering a part of them. I have grown to love secrecy. It seems to be the one thing that can make modern life mysterious or marvellous to us. The commonest thing is delightful if one only hides it."And other, to be kind we can call old fashioned, by which we mean sexist AF.“I am afraid that women appreciate cruelty, downright cruelty, more than anything else. They have wonderfully primitive instincts. We have emancipated them, but they remain slaves looking for their masters, all the same. They love being dominated. "The book is full of beliefs like the above, about women, Americans, lower class people - in short anyone who is not Harry or Dorian, with the brief exception of Basil before he disappoints and is cast aside as well. Everything is discussed at length, back and forth as if some eager neophyte sits at their feet, watching the conversation like a tennis match, to jot down words of wisdom. It feels like The Great Gatsy's grand sense of style over substance, though perhaps I should say Gatsby feels like this.Some passages do little to contribute to the plot - pages upon pages of Dorian's collected indulgences - that are difficult to slog through. I'll admit to skimming.There are not homoerotic undertones, there are large flashing neon - oops, candlelight - signs of bisexuality and homosexuality. Scandalous at the time, but subtle compared to everyday life now. One wonders how much living in the midst of that societal attitude contributed to the negativity expressed so much above, and mourns for how the author might have been able to flourish in a different time.

This book is absolutely just gorgeous! I haven't read it yet, but KNOW it's going to be a keeper and a book I'll want to read again and pass down to my kids. This cover sealed the deal for me on this style of book! In hand there are no regrets! I will say it delivered in shocking (to me) way - it was loose with no protective cover, bag, poly, foam - nothing...just loose in a big amazon box!!! Just moving around in there, bouncing around in there is more like it. I can't imagine how much it was battered around before reaching me! Luckily there was only a the tiniest of white tears on the edge of the top corner. I'm disappointed about it, but am sure it would just get shipped the same way again, so...

I love it cannot put down

This was a gift for a teenager. I really liked the design of the cover and the gilded page edges. I was disappointed because I had viewed the book online, and it had notes regarding the story at the beginning and vocabulary words in the back. It did state that I was looking at the paperback view of the book. However, the hard cover did not have notes or vocabulary. I was expecting the content to be the same as the paperback, but it was not.

The cover is simply lovely! A good read if you haven’t read it yet. Will make a lovely addition to my collection. Happy with my purchase.

The cover of this book is beautiful and is why I bought this version. I was disappointed however that the pages are glossy. Not only do they glare in lamp-light, you cannot make annotations with any pen other than a permanent marker. It'll look good on my shelf but I bought a $10 version elsewhere to read note-take and enjoy.