"The Picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde

The story is about a handsome and eloquent young man named Dorian Gray. He has a special friendship with the painter Basil Hallward, who, inspired by his extraordinary beauty, makes a portrait of him.
Basil, extremely fond of Dorian, does not want him to get in contact with his friend, Lord Henry Wotton, a sinister aristocrat, who has a certain influence to other people. His cynical outlook on life, his "mental poison" should not come into Dorian's mind. But Against Basil's wishes, the two meet, and Dorian is immediately taken by Lord Henry's fascinating words, presence and wittiness.
Henry, enormously fascinated of his beauty and his innocence, flatters Dorian with his comments on the virtues of beauty, the charms of youth, and expresses his sadness at the thought that such youth should fade into the ugliness of age.
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