New, Full-Text ‘Picture of Dorian Gray’ Restores Naughty Bits

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If you thought the version of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray we’ve been reading for the past 130 years was transgressive for its time, you apparently ain’t seen nothin’ yet. The Guardian reports on the recent publication of an uncensored version of Wilde’s fin-de-siècle masterpiece, which was cut because its editor believed it contained “a number of things which an innocent woman would make an exception to.” As a result, the explicitly gay bits, mentions of Dorian’s “mistresses,” and anything else judged to be too “decadent” (read: French) had to go.

Of course, Wilde’s most risqué passages are pretty tame by today’s standards. The Guardian quotes the moment when Basil Hallward confesses his affection to Dorian: “It is quite true I have worshipped you with far more romance of feeling than a man should ever give to a friend. Somehow I have never loved a woman.” [via io9]