The Home Where Oscar Wilde Wrote “The Picture of Dorian Gray” Is For Sale

published Sep 16, 2020
We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.

If you’re looking to buy a house with a bit of history, then you’re in luck—Oscar Wilde’s former home in Chelsea, London, is on the market for £1.6 million (about $2 million).

The playwright moved into the flat with his wife, children’s author Constance Lloyd, in 1885 when it was newly-built, and lived there for 10 years. It is said that the property is where they welcomed famous guests such as John Singer Sargent, Frank Miles, and James McNeill Whistler, among others. 

More importantly, it is also the place where Wilde penned his novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” as well as his play “The Importance of Being Earnest.”

Over the years, the property has been divided into smaller flats, one of which features modern interiors that contrast nicely with the home’s red brick façade. It comes with a reception room, two bedrooms, white-washed walls, a guest toilet, and an open-plan kitchen and dining room set inside a glass-encased extension that leads to the garden.

The couple’s original furnishings are no longer there, but the new ones look so homely, one can’t help but feel a rush of creativity! A blue plaque outside also serves to inspire anyone who passes by the historic dwelling. It reads: “Oscar Wilde. Wit and dramatist lived here.”

You can learn more about the flat by heading over to the Hamptons International listing here.