Oscar Wilde was arrested in 1895 for gross indecency, the press reported that he was led away with a yellow book under his arm.
Whilst this was intended as a reference to his most famous character Dorian Gray, journalists led the public to believe that the book was in fact “The Yellow Book”: a popular literary journal co-founded by Wilde’s friend and illustrator Aubrey Beardsley.Beardsley’s name was immediately dragged into the scandal.
Previously known as a respected illustrator, he was now seen as being part of the radical and decadent fringe, he was vilified in an oppressive Victorian society and his publisher was forced to fire him.