Wilde, Oscar.

8vo, advertisements, original printed wrappers, foxed, covers browned, upper cover slightly chipped with loss of few letters



the first appearance of this important story which was revised and enlarged for final publication in book form. "The effect of Dorian Gray was prodigious. No novel had commanded so much attention for years, or awakened sentiments so contradictory in its readers." (Richard Ellmann, Oscar Wilde)



Lippincott's Monthly Magazine was printed in America and published simultaneously in London and Philadelphia. This is the London issue, with the Ward, Lock and Co. imprint in larger type.



 

Mason 81; Ellmann, pp.260-261, 280-305

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Wilde had been talking about the story of the young man and the artist for several years, different versions being paraded before various young men. It was in September 1889 that the Philadelphia publisher of Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, J.M. Stoddart,  came to London. He wanted some short novels for publication and approached both Conan Doyle and Wilde. Conan Doyle recalls the evening in Memories and Adventures: "Stoddart, the American, proved to be an excellent fellow, and had two others to dinner. They were Gill, a very entertaining MP, and Oscar Wilde, who was already famous as the champion of aestheticism. It was indeed a golden evening for me. Wilde to my surprise had read Micah Clarke and was enthusiastic about it, so that I did not feel a complete outsider. The result of the evening was that both Wilde and I promised to write books for Lippincott's Magazine - Wilde's contribution was The Picture of Dorian Gray, a book which is surely upon a high moral plane, while I wrote The Sign of Four, in which Holmes made his second appearance." Wilde had first offered Stoddart his short story "The Fisherman and his Soul", which Stoddart rejected. Wilde responded in December by saying, "I have invented a new story, which is better than 'The Fisherman and his Soul', and I am quite ready to set to work at once on it. It will be ready by the end of March" (Complete Letters, p.416). 

The Picture of Dorian Gray was Wilde's longest prose narrative and gave him immense trouble."I am afraid it is rather like my own life - all conversation and no action." Although Stoddart had wanted it for October 1889, the story finally appeared on June 20 1890 and the face of Victorian literature was irrevocably altered, as was Wilde's life. His wife found its publication too much and the resulting attention too intrusive, but his mother thought it "the most wonderful piece of writing in all fiction of the day." W.H. Smith refused to stock it, describing it as "filthy", and Macmillan would not publish it in book form on the grounds that it contained unpleasant references. But George Lock of Ward, Lock and Co., a small firm who had circulated a press release on behalf of Lippincott's praising the story, agreed to publish it, and the revised and enlarged edition duly appeared in April 1891 (see lot 44). Although it had repelled several critics, it was reviewed with respect in the Athenaeum  and the Theatre. 

"...My story is an essay on decorative art. It reacts against the crude brutality of plain realism. It is poisonous if you like, but you cannot deny that it is also perfect, and perfection is what we artists aim at..." (letter to the editor of the Daily Chronicle, 30 June 1890: Complete Letters, p.436).

The character of Dorian was probably named after  the young poet John Gray who was introduced to Wilde by Ricketts and Shannon. The influence of the book on Wilde's own life was profound.  A copy was lent by Lionel Johnson to his young cousin, Lord Alfred Douglas, who begged to be taken to meet the author: Wilde saw his fictional character come to life.

The story in its original state comprised only thirteen chapters, a further six being added later, and there were more personal connotations and references which were either removed totally or amended (see lot 42). All references to the painter Whistler were removed for fear of libel, and the age of Dorian and his date of birth were altered, being perceived as too close to Wilde's own at the start of his relationship with Robbie Ross.