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The Picture of Dorian Gray (Abridged) Audiobook

The Picture of Dorian Gray (Abridged) Audiobook, by Oscar Wilde Play Audiobook Sample
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Read By: Martin Shaw Publisher: Copyright Group Listen Time: at 1.0x Speed 1.50 hours at 1.5x Speed 1.13 hours at 2.0x Speed Release Date: February 2014 Format: Abridged Audiobook ISBN: 9781780001999

Quick Stats About this Audiobook

Total Audiobook Chapters:

8

Longest Chapter Length:

26:04 minutes

Shortest Chapter Length:

09:51 minutes

Average Chapter Length:

17:56 minutes

Audiobooks by this Author:

81

Publisher Description

The Picture of Dorian Gray is Oscar Wilde’s only full length novel, a melodramatic tale of love, murder, thwarted revenge, and final justice.

A young man named Dorian Gray is the muse of artist Basil Hallward. Basil is impressed by Dorian’s physical perfection and becomes infatuated with him, believing his beauty is responsible for the new life in his art. One day while posing in Basil’s garden, Dorian meets Lord Henry Wotton, a friend of Basil’s, and becomes enthralled by Lord Henry’s hedonistic views that claim the only things worth pursuing in life are beauty and the fulfilment of the senses. Upon seeing his beautiful portrait and realizing that one day his own beauty will fade, Dorian wishes that the work of art might grow old instead of his own physical body. Dorian’s wish is fulfilled, and he plunges into ever more debauched acts.

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"The Picture of Dorian Gray is a remarkable novel filled with tipsy-turvy modes of thought that baffle the reader nearly as much as Dorian Gray's picture baffled him. A tragedy marked with the buddings beginning a pathway to... something. Complex, versatile, unique, paradoxical; entirely worthwhile. However, one not fond and inexperienced of reading should not embark on this journey quite yet. The ability to separate and seclude inorganic and foreign thoughts is necessary for comprehension. Passion vs. obsession is necessary for sanity. Go on Dorian, build the audience you once longed for..."

— Barb (4 out of 5 stars)

Awards

  • A Literary Hub Pick of Great Irish Novels Not Set in Ireland

The Picture of Dorian Gray Listener Reviews

Overall Performance: 4.111111111111111 out of 54.111111111111111 out of 54.111111111111111 out of 54.111111111111111 out of 54.111111111111111 out of 5 (4.11)
5 Stars: 28
4 Stars: 17
3 Stars: 16
2 Stars: 1
1 Stars: 1
Narration: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 (0.00)
5 Stars: 0
4 Stars: 0
3 Stars: 0
2 Stars: 0
1 Stars: 0
Story: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 (0.00)
5 Stars: 0
4 Stars: 0
3 Stars: 0
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1 Stars: 0
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  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5 Narration Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 Story Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5

    " Read this book way back in High School, for English class. Really enjoyed it. Might need to revisit this classic. Clean writing, good characters, and good story. "

    — Kristi, 2/15/2014
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5 Narration Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 Story Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5

    " Great book. It is a great journey, emotionally, morally and narratively. In some short 230 pages Wilde makes an astounding story and social critique that is surprisingly relevant today. "

    — Adrian, 2/10/2014
  • Overall Performance: 1 out of 51 out of 51 out of 51 out of 51 out of 5 Narration Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 Story Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5

    " I simply did not like it. "

    — Cecilia, 2/4/2014
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5 Narration Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 Story Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5

    " The writing is excellent but the vanity and shallowness of the main character were just too much for me. Vanity is an essential ingredient of the books and it would have been more difficult to give the book its ending if the character actually did something of value. However, I could not help but get angry with the main character. This is why the book only gest 4 stars. "

    — Kasia, 2/4/2014
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5 Narration Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 Story Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5

    " Dorian Gray's decent feels like the story of my life. Wilde's novel is erotic and disturbing and absolutely wonderful. "

    — Miriam, 2/3/2014
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5 Narration Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 Story Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5

    " Een klassieker, uiteraard. Ik vond dat ik die toch wel mocht gelezen hebben. Wilde is een schitterend schrijver, maar soms verliest hij zich in ellenlange opsommingen, of pseudo-filosofische beschouwingen, en wordt het wat langdradig. Al bij al heb ik het toch wel graag gelezen, en zeker naar het einde toe had ik moeite om het weg te leggen. "

    — Gudrun, 2/3/2014
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5 Narration Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 Story Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5

    " The Picture of Dorian Gray is the quintessential decadent novel by that great aesthete Oscar Wilde. We must remember that Wilde was primarily a poet and playwright, and, if I am not mistaken, this is his only novel. It is a great novel, of course, if a bit heavy handed in its moralising, something Wilde was at pains to do, as his personal life and his "sins" were to be his downfall. Wilde was such a sensitive soul, that it is easy to forget, as he he is so well known for his barbed humor and aphorisms. But, as is usually the case, such a prickly exterior usually masks a remarkably refined and cultivated soul. His tales for children, such as the The Rose and the Nightingale are heart-achingly beautiful. And the witticisms of his plays, The Importance of Being Earnest, An Ideal Husband and Lady Windemere's Fan, are precious examples of Vicrtorian comedy at its finest and most sardonic. His observations on class distinction, its superficial absurdities, and its frivolousness are captured perfectly in each and all his plays, but he also had a talent for the Gothic, and if he was no Poe, he certainly sought to capture a darkness reminiscent of that other great aesthete Baudelaire. Wilde was a true romantic and had the great folly to fall in love with a well connected society man, and that sealed his fate, he would be indicted for such unseemly charges as "sodomy" and for what its worth he was a homosexual martyr who fate could not have been worse. And yet, he was always be celebrated as an advocate of "art for art's sake," and his rivalry with Whistler was well documented. It is important, too, to remember that he was an Irishman, and he led a long line of some of the finest writers in the English language who are also Irish, such as Yeats, Joyce, and, of course, Beckett. "

    — John, 1/31/2014
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5 Narration Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 Story Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5

    " Always loved this story - Oscar Wilde was brillant "

    — Lisa, 1/27/2014
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5 Narration Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 Story Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5

    " An amazing book that is not to be read quickly. Savor every delicious word. "

    — Sabrina, 1/25/2014
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5 Narration Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 Story Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5

    " Genius. There is nothing else to be said. This is an unsettling read - but necessary. What is the price of beauty? What is its essence? What would you give for it? "

    — Rose, 1/23/2014
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5 Narration Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 Story Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5

    " Very witty, quick paced, but occasionally too decadent. "

    — Jenny, 1/20/2014

About Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) was born in Dublin. He won scholarships to both Trinity College, Dublin, and Magdalen College, Oxford. In 1875, he began publishing poetry in literary magazines, and in 1878, he won the coveted Newdigate Prize for English poetry. He had a reputation as a flamboyant wit and man-about-town. After his marriage to Constance Lloyd in 1884, he tried to establish himself as a writer, but with little initial success. However, his three volumes of short fiction, The Happy Prince, Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime, and A House of Pomegranates, together with his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, gradually won him a reputation as a modern writer with an original talent. That reputation was confirmed and enhanced by the phenomenal success of his society comedies: Lady Windermere’s Fan, A Woman of No Importance, An Ideal Husband, and The Importance of Being Earnest, all performed on London’s West End stage between 1892 and 1895. In 1895, he was convicted of engaging in homosexual acts, which were then illegal, and sentenced to two years imprisonment with hard labor. He soon declared bankruptcy, and his property was auctioned off. In 1896, he lost legal custody of his children. When his mother died that same year, his wife Constance visited him at the jail to bring him the news. It was the last time they saw each other. In the years after his release, his health deteriorated. In November 1900, he died in Paris at the age of forty-six.

About Martin Shaw

Martin Shaw is an award-winning English actor known for his distinguished theater career and over one hundred television roles, including the popular Detective Constable Doyle in The Professionals. He lives in Norfolk, England.