Books similar in theme to "The Picture of Dorian Gray"

[Acquiescence]

For my AP LIT class, thanks

[Child_20]

Faust by Johann Wolfgang Goethe or American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis. I hope that helps you get started.

[Acquiescence]

im not sure my Lit teacher would approve of American Psycho, but Faust seems nice

[Quilp]

How about Will Self's 'Dorian' - a postmodern reworking?

[bazarov]

Faust is excellent suggestion; and a book.

[JCamilo]

Dr.Jekyll and Mister Hyde also have similarities to this story

[LitNetIsGreat]

Try Joris-Karl Huysmans À rebours thought to be "the little yellow book" that so corrupted Dorian.

I don't know exactly what you are studying in particular but a little background reading in Pater, Ruskin anything in the field of aesthetics or art-for-arts sake would help, of course you maybe need to look at Wilde's other French decadent influences too.

[Snowqueen]

I think Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe will do.

[Acquiescence]

well i picked Faust---- but now i need a 3rd book, my lit teacher wants us to eventually write a thesis concerning similar traits all 3 books share.

im considering
phantom of the opera
jekyll and hyde..

[Wilde woman]

Y'all are good. Most of the ones I thought of were already posted. Here are some that you could stretch. Don Quixote and The Female Quixote...because, like Dorian, the protagonists in both of those cannot seem to distinguish art from reality.

Also, I think comparisons could be made with Frankenstein.

[JCamilo]

I must just disagree with Quixote, Dorian can see the difference between art and reality. The picture is not a product of his madness or anything else, Dorian is a fantastic book where Quixote is a realistic book.
Frankstein, you may see the creature as a double for Frankstein, but a important part of Dorian is that the picture (His moral double) is Dorian himself, and not another creature. As such, Thomas Mann Doctor Faustus is more interesting.

[Acquiescence]

im just concerned that faustus would be considered too similar too faust to be like a separate 3rd book... are the plots wildly different?

[JCamilo]

Yes and no...
Thomas Mann's book is a modern realistic book, the pact with the devil may be only psychological or suggested. Also, it is narrated by the third part, so, unlike Goethe, where Fausto is the main character and his impressions and way of thinking are relevant. As a note, Mann also talks more about german history and is very concerned about Art and aesthetics (Of music, by the way, the book is impressive musical without using a metric language, etc)... It is interesting to know Goethe, because it is a bit like Homer- Joyce (Regarding Odissey-Ulysses) however...
But really, Goethe book is already huge (if you are reading the two parts), and Mann book is not small either, so time is a factor here...
I would really go for Stevenson Jekyll and Hyde, Wilde knew the book, liked and some point that reading Stevenson book gave him the idea for Dorian altough I can not remember who and where I read it right now...