Lord Alfred Douglas to him in an article on Wilde. Douglas was either plaintiff or defendant in several trials for civil or criminal libel. In 1913 he was charged with libelling his father-in-law. Also in 1913 he accused Arthur Ransome of libelling him in his book "Oscar Wilde: A Critical Study". He saw this trial as a weapon against his enemy Ross, not understanding that Ross would not be called to give evidence. The court found in Ransome's favour and Douglas was bankrupted by the failed libel suit. Ransome did remove the offending passages from the second edition of his book. In the
Lord Alfred Douglas did give him occasional handouts. When Wilde died in 1900, he was still bankrupt. Douglas served as chief mourner, although there reportedly was an altercation at the grave between him and Robbie Ross. This struggle developed into a feud which would preview the later litigations between the two former lovers of Wilde. After Wilde's death, Douglas established a close friendship with Olive Custance, an heiress, poet and bisexual. They married on 4 March 1902. Olive Custance was in a relationship with the writer Natalie Barney when she and Douglas first met. Barney and Douglas eventually became close friends and Barney