《道林．格雷的畫像》是一部哥德式的恐怖小說，也是奧斯卡．王爾德唯一問世的小說。1890年，這部小說首次刊登於月刊，旋即受到撻伐。王爾德後來作了大幅的改寫，新改寫的故事於1891年以小說的形式發行，但同樣再次招致批評，當時並引爆了王爾德個人的醜聞。王爾德的夫人曾說：「打從奧斯卡寫了《道林．格雷》之後，就沒有人要跟我們打交道了。」知名書店W.H. Smiths拒賣這本書；不過儘管飽受爭議，這本書仍然暢銷。

　　奧斯卡．王爾德是一位成功的劇作家，《道林．格雷的畫像》的寫作風格更像戲劇而非小說，小說的對白多於敘述，並集中於三位主要人物之間的機智對話。小說中，主人翁道林．格雷是一位青春貌美的青年，一位畫家為他畫了一幅出色的肖像畫，之後他受到友人的慫恿，人生的態度丕變，轉而追求享樂主義的生活。崇尚美與享樂的空虛生命，是小說主要的主題之一。

　　故事就由「道林．格雷的畫像」開場，這部小說始於此，亦終於此。一幅俊美的肖像畫，到底隱藏了什麼樣的秘密？放蕩的生活、數條的人命，究竟是什麼樣的墮落人生？青春與美貌、良心與罪惡、天堂與地獄，何處是人性價值的光芒閃耀之處？

　　The Picture of Dorian Gray is a gothic horror story, and it is the only published novel written by Oscar Wilde. When it first appeared in a monthly magazine in 1890, it was criticized. Wilde then made a lot of changes to the story. The new story was published as a novel in 1891. Again, it was criticized, and it caused scandal at the time. Wilde’s wife, Constance said, ”Since Oscar wrote Dorian Gray no one will speak to us.” W.H. Smiths, the famous bookseller, refused to sell the book, but despite the controversy, it was still very popular.

　　Oscar Wilde was a successful playwright and The Picture of Dorian Gray is written more in the style of a play than a novel. There is more dialogue than description and the novel focuses on the witty conversations between its three main characters: Basil Hallward, the artist, Lord Henry Wotton, his wealthy friend, and Dorian Gray, a handsome young man.

　　One of the main themes of the novel is the emptiness of worshipping beauty and pleasure. Life, Lord Henry Wotton says in the novel, should be lived for beauty and pleasure and not for duty. He encourages Dorian Gray to enjoy himself. He tells Dorian he should make the most of his youth and beauty before they fade. Dorian Gray takes his advice and leads a selfish, hedonistic life. In the end, he realizes his mistake but it is too late. He has destroyed his soul. The novel has always been very popular and thirteen film versions of it have been made to date. Marvel Comics made an illustrated adaptation of the novel in 2007.

　　【Helbling文學讀本（Helbling Readers）簡介】

　　共出版十餘本，分兩大套：
　　● Helbling Classics（經典英文文學改寫）
　　● Helbling Fiction（當代原創英文小說）

　　《Helbling文學讀本》為一套最優質的英文分級閱讀讀本，英語難易度由初級銜接到中級。在各項英語認證考試中，本系列書培養的英語能力級數如下：

GEPT英檢 TOEIC多益 TOEFL iBT托福 IELTS雅思 中級 550 57-86 4.5
　　全系列皆隨書附贈全文朗讀MP3。
　　內文編排精美，採用彩色印刷，全文穿插精美插圖，單元設計豐富。

　　除了精彩的小說之外，另編寫有：

　　1.About the Author（作者簡介）：介紹作者，幫助認識創作背景。
　　2.About the Book（本書簡介）：介紹故事內容概要，幫助了解故事的背景與旨意。
　　3.Before Reading（閱前活動）：設計各種問題和活動，幫助暖身，啟發各種探討與學習。
　　4.After Reading（閱後練習）：設計各種深入的問題和題目練習，幫助復習內容，加深英語的學習印象。
　　5.Test（測驗）：有些讀本在閱畢之後，設計有各種測驗題目，包括文意測驗和英語練習等。
　　6.隨文討論：在故事行文中，另設計有針對內文情節的問題探討，幫助做啟發性的思考。

　　【本書錄音採用英式發音】