The Picture of Dorian Gray [1891] is Oscar Wilde's masterful novel about a beautiful young man who is portrayed by an artist, and whose picture proceeds to age in his place. Led astray by an older friend, Dorian Gray acts upon his desires with no regard for the consequences. Despite this, he always manages to escape unpunished. His painted portrait, however, becomes increasingly distorted; and finally, he can no longer endure it. The dandy novel of dandy novels, The Picture of Dorian Gray is a story whose main character has come to signify a phenomena far beyond the boundaries of literature. OSCAR WILDE [born 1854 in Dublin, died 1900 in Paris] was an Irish poet, playwright, prose writer and essayist. His significance as a symbol for persecuted homosexuals is immeasurable. Wilde was sentenced to two years of imprisonment with hard labour, his works were boycotted, dramatic productions were shut down, and he was publicly vilified. His most famous prose works include the Faustian novel The Picture of Dorian Gray and the autobiographical book about his trial and imprisonment, De Profundis [1905].