The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde, is first published complete by Philadelphia-based Lippincott's Monthly Magazine (dated July) on June 20, 1890.

Fearing the story is indecent, the magazine's editor had deleted roughly five hundred words before publication without Wilde's knowledge

Despite this censorship, The Picture of Dorian Gray offends the moral sensibilities of British book reviewers, some of whom will say that Oscar Wilde merits prosecution for violating the laws guarding public morality.

In response, Wilde will aggressively defend his novel and art in correspondence with the British press, although he will personally make excisions of some of the most controversial material when revising and lengthening the story for book publication the following year.