The Picture of Dorian Gray is a philosophical novel by the writer Oscar Wilde. When the book was first published it was victim to censorship by he magazine's editor. Despite censorship, the novel still offended the moral sensibilities of British readers of the time. Wilde response to that is read in the preface of this book: "There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all."