Youth Youth There is absolutely nothing in the world worth having but youth The Picture of Dorian Gray is an 1891 philosophical novel by Irish writer and playwright Oscar Wilde. This Gothic morality tale is the story of a man who taken by his own beauty pledges his soul in a desperate bid for eternal youth. But when his wish is granted things go terribly wrong. A painting of Dorian begins to age in his place while Dorian himself becomes a dangerous narcissist who destroys everyone standing in his way until the day he is forced to come face to face with the ugliness of his own conscience.