Dorian Gray (character) Dorian Gray (character) Dorian Gray is a fictional character and the protagonist of Oscar Wilde's 1891 novel "The Picture of Dorian Gray". He is an aristocratic Victorian man. Dorian is the grandson of the late Lord Gibbo. His mother, Lady Margaret Devereux, was portrayed as a beautiful and rich woman. Her grandfather had a strong dislike for Kelso, and in turn, Margaret received the entire Selby property. Dorian’s father, a subaltern in a foot regiment, was killed by a Belgian brute a few months after his marriage to Lady Margaret, who died soon after. The novel's plot varies between each
The Picture of Dorian Gray made excisions of some of the most controversial material when revising and lengthening the story for book publication the following year. The longer and revised version of "The Picture of Dorian Gray" published in book form in 1891 featured an aphoristic preface—a defence of the artist's rights and of art for art's sake—based in part on his press defences of the novel the previous year. The content, style, and presentation of the preface made it famous in its own right, as a literary and artistic manifesto. In April 1891, the publishing firm of Ward, Lock and Company, who had distributed