Oscar Wilde loved to shock the Victorian public - and prepared “Salome” for the fate of his most scandalous play. The reason for banning the production was the biblical theme, but the unconventional combination of religion with eroticism and the foreign language (written in French) worked against the play. In England, the ban lasted for almost forty years. The collection also included the novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” which was condemned as an immoral work; some critics demanded that the publication be banned and the author subjected to judicial punishment. Translation: Ekaterina Andreeva, Konstantin Balmont, Maria Abkina