Free public-domain audiobook
Listen to The Picture of Dorian Gray as a free audiobook on iPhone
You can listen to The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde as a free audiobook on your iPhone. Because the book is in the public domain, you can download a free EPUB edition and have it read aloud with natural on-device voices - privately, offline, and without buying an audiobook.
A beautiful young man wishes his portrait would age in his place - and gets his wish, sinking into cruelty while the canvas records every sin. Wilde wraps a moral fable in glittering epigrams about beauty and corruption. The talk is the pleasure: Lord Henry’s paradoxes read aloud like a stand-up routine.
Why The Picture of Dorian Gray is free to listen to
First published in 1890 (expanded 1891), The Picture of Dorian Gray is public domain. Free EPUB editions of both versions exist.
Length: A short novel, 20 chapters; a few sittings.
How to listen to The Picture of Dorian Gray on iPhone
- Download a free public-domain EPUB of The Picture of Dorian Gray (Project Gutenberg and Standard Ebooks both offer one).
- Move the EPUB to your iPhone via AirDrop, iCloud Drive, email, or a direct download into Files.
- Open the EPUB in a reader app that reads text aloud, or use Apple's built-in Speak Screen to hear the open page.
- Choose a voice and press play. A reader that generates the voice on the device works offline, with nothing uploaded.
Questions & answers
Which version of Dorian Gray should I listen to?
The Picture of Dorian Gray exists as the shorter 1890 magazine version and the longer 1891 book version, both public domain and free. The 1891 edition is the one most people mean and adds chapters and a preface of aphorisms. Either is a fine listen; the 1891 text is the fuller experience.
Is Dorian Gray dialogue-heavy enough for a smooth listen?
The Picture of Dorian Gray is rich in dialogue, especially Lord Henry’s witty paradoxes, which read aloud very well. The descriptive chapter cataloguing Dorian’s collections is the one slow stretch for a synthetic voice. Skimming or speeding through that single chapter keeps the rest of the book brisk.