The Picture of Dorian Gray edition of the novel; nonetheless, by June 1891, Wilde was defending "The Picture of Dorian Gray" against accusations that it was a bad book. In the essay "The Artist as Critic", Oscar Wilde said that: In the 19th century, the critical reception of the novel "The Picture of Dorian Gray" (1890) was poor. The book critic of "The Irish Times" said, "The Picture of Dorian Gray" was "first published to some scandal." Such book reviews achieved for the novel a "certain notoriety for being 'mawkish and nauseous', 'unclean', 'effeminate' and 'contaminating'." Such moralistic scandal arose from the novel's homoeroticism, which
The Picture of Dorian Gray (opera) Dorian prevents this, saying that this would be murder. Lord Henry invites them to the opera that evening. Basil declines and asks Dorian to say behind to dine with him, but Dorian accepts the invitation. "Scene 2" A month later, at a visit to Lord Henry's house, Dorian says that he has fallen in love with a young Shakespearean actress, Sibyl Vane. He asks Lord Henry to bring Basil with him to Sibyl's performance as Juliet the next night. Lord Henry accepts, and after Dorian, thinks about his attraction to and influence over the young man. "Scene 3" The next