The Scot’s Observer Review is Published
After A Picture of Dorian Gray was released in Lippincott’s magazine, The Scot’s Observer published their review of the novel on July 5th of 1890. The review is known for disapproving of the novel’s storyline, theme, and subtly suggesting that Oscar Wilde should be charged with gross indecency by referencing the “Cleveland Street Scandal.” The review begins with the critic claiming that there are plenty of healthy minded readers who shouldn’t waste their time reading about Oscar Wilde’s fake portrayal of human nature. They then accuse Oscar Wilde of preferring an immoral life rather than one promoted by the Evangelical Church present in England at the time. The review concludes that while Wilde is a talented writer, if he can only write for perverted telegraph boys and outlawed noblemen it’s better he just not write at all.
Towards the end of the review, the critic mentions perverted telegraph boys. This was a reference to the Cleveland Street Scandal. In late 1889, the london police department discovered a male brothel, an individual who exchanges sexual activities for money, on Cleveland Street. This location supplied boys, from the nearby post office, for sex with high class gentlemen. One of the brothels and aristocratic gentlemen pleaded guilty in exchange for a lighter sentence. The police authorities wished to silence the case because there were several politically important men involved within the scandal, including Lord Arthur Somerset, the Earl of Euston, and Prince Albert Victor. These authorities successfully delayed the investigation until many of these men got the chance to flee the country all together. If these important men were convicted in a court of law they most likely would’ve been charged with gross indecency, implemented by the Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1885. When the Scot’s Observer references this event they’re most likely indicating that Oscar Wilde should be charged with gross indecency for acts of homosexuality.
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