First publication of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray in Lippincott's

Background. At the turn of the 1890s, Wilde refined his ideas about the supremacy of art in dialogues and essays, incorporating themes of decadence, duplicity and beauty into what would be his only novel. Editor Stoddart commissioned the work and received the manuscript on 7 April 1890, seven months after commissioning it. The story appeared as the lead item in the July 1890 issue of Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, alongside five other stories.

Contemporary Reception. The publication generated significant controversy. Critics in the Daily Chronicle and Scots Observer condemned the novel's moral content, with one asking why Wilde was 'grubbing in muck-heaps.' The Irish Times noted the work was 'first published to some scandal.' Consequently, WHSmith, Britain's largest bookseller, withdrew all copies of the July 1890 issue from its railway station bookstalls.

1891 Book Edition. Wilde responded to criticism by clarifying his stance on ethics and aesthetics. He revised the text extensively for the 1891 book edition, adding six new chapters, excising overtly decadent passages, and including a preface of twenty-two epigrams. The book edition, published by Ward, Lock and Company in April 1891, expanded the text from thirteen to twenty chapters.