Modern response
The novel was mostly ignored and considered “unworthy” of critical attention until about the 1980s; with Richard Ellmann even writing that “parts of the novel are wooden, padded, self-indulgent”. Afterwards, critics began to reassess it as a masterpiece of Wilde’s oeuvre. Joyce Carol Oates wrote of the book “it is exceptionally good – in fact, one of the strongest and most haunting of English novels”, while noting that the reputation of the novel was still questionable.
Allie Townsend of Time placed it 8th on her 6 October 2010 “must read classic horror novels” list, remarking “Oscar Wilde’s only novel, The Picture Of Dorian Gray is a beautifully brooding account of a man whose vanity leads him to wish for everlasting youth, and the spiraling menace of immortality.” The Mary Sue put it on its list of “best gothic horror novels”, stating “Oscar Wilde’s most celebrated novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, combines Gothic elements with the author’s trademark wit and social commentary.
The novel revolves around Dorian Gray, a charming and erudite man whose portrait ages and warps as a result of his debauchery while he remains unblemished and youthful. Wilde explores the nature of beauty, the dangers of indulgence, and the rot that lurks under a seemingly perfect facade … I can relate.” In March 2014, Robert McCrum of The Guardian listed it among the 100 best novels ever written in English, calling it “an arresting, and slightly camp, exercise in late-Victorian gothic”.
Legacy and adaptations
Main articles: Adaptations of The Picture of Dorian Gray and Music based on the works of Oscar Wilde § The Picture of Dorian Gray
Though not initially a widely appreciated component of Wilde’s body of work following his death in 1900, The Picture of Dorian Gray has come to attract a great deal of academic and popular interest, and has been the subject of many adaptations to film and stage.
In 1913, it was adapted to the stage by writer G. Constant Lounsbery at London’s Vaudeville Theatre. In the same decade, it was the subject of several silent film adaptations. Perhaps the best-known and most critically praised film adaptation is 1945’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, which earned an Academy Award for best black-and-white cinematography, as well as a Best Supporting Actress nomination for Angela Lansbury, who played Sibyl Vane.
In 2003, Stuart Townsend played Dorian Gray in the film League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. In 2009, the novel was loosely adapted into the film Dorian Gray, starring Ben Barnes as Dorian and Colin Firth as Lord Henry. Alexander Vlahos played the character in a series of audio dramas scripted by David Llewellyn in 2013. Reeve Carney portrays Dorian Gray in John Logan’s Penny Dreadful, which aired on Showtime from 2014 to 2016.
The Dorian Awards are named in honor of Wilde, in reference to The Picture of Dorian Gray; the original award was a simple certificate with an image of Wilde along with a graphic of hands holding a black bow tie. The first Dorian Awards were announced in January 2010 (nominees were revealed the previous month).
