Abstract
After reading disappointing reviews on The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, nobody would be tempted to read it. On the contrary, it would be a missed chance to learn more about life and its superficiality and about the power of manipulation and its negative influences. It may be possible that this book was too modern for its time, and that subjects such as homosexuality, immorality, cult of beauty have offended people. The style of the novel is also distressing, with a clever blend of satire, humor and the supernatural, which gives rise to this comedy of manners.
Perhaps, all these elements led to the outbreak of a scandal, which followed the first publication of the book, in the Lippincott's Monthly Magazine on June 20, 1890. Panned by critics and presented as an "immoral story", The Picture of Dorian Gray, was revised by its author in an expanded second version with six new chapters added and published in 1891.
