Titled after its bright cover, the periodical called The Yellow Book appeared to much fanfare in March 1894. It would soon gain notoriety due to its connection with decadent British writers and artists of the day. Published by John Lane, already known as a leader of the avant-garde, it was to have departed “as far as may be from the bad old traditions of periodical literature.”

It satisfied that goal early on, as its first edition, although containing fiction by popular authors including Henry James, carried illustrations by the outrageous Aubrey Beardsley, previously linked with Oscar Wilde, and a controversial essay by Max Beerbohm titled “A Defence of Cosmetics.” Critics attacked Beardsley, dubbing him “Weirdlsey Daubery” and “Awfully Weirdly,” while they labeled Beerbohm “Max Mereboom.” Rather than being issued from the Bodley Head, satiric attacks had its distribution point as “The Bogey Head.”

When in 1895 Wilde, in actuality not a fan of the publication, left court following his failed libel case against the Marquis of Queensbury and stuck what appeared to be a copy of The Yellow Book under his arm, it seemed doomed. Guilt by association took over in the public’s mind, and Mrs. Humphrey Ward and other moralists publicly demanded Beardsley’s dismissal from The Yellow Book staff. Crowds stoned the Bodley Head, and Lane, on a boat bound for America, received a copy of Wilde’s photo when he arrived. After some hesitation, he ordered the upcoming edition recalled from the printers and all trace of Beardsley removed.

Ironically, Wilde had not even been holding a copy of the periodical, but instead had grabbed a French novel in yellow cover titled Aphrodite. The public did not want to hear the truth of the matter, so intent was it on sanitizing the threatening publication.

The Yellow Book continued its run through 1897, eventually printing work by many well-known writers, including George Gissing, H. G. Wells, Arnold Bennett, and W. B. Yeats. It became part of the aesthetics debate of the 1890s and was satirized in musicals by W. S. Gilbert. Most issues from its three-year run remain readily available.

Bibliography
Harrison, Fraser, ed. The Yellow Book. Suffolk, U.K.: The Boydell Press, 1982.