The Green Carnation The Green Carnation The Green Carnation, first published anonymously in 1894, was a scandalous novel by Robert Hichens whose lead characters are closely based on Oscar Wilde and Lord Alfred Douglas – also known as "Bosie", whom the author personally knew. It was an instant "succès de scandale" on both sides of the Atlantic. The reviewer for "The Observer" wrote, ""The Green Carnation" will be read and discussed by everyone... nothing so impudent, so bold, or so delicious has been printed these many years." The book features the characters of "Esmé Amarinth" (Wilde), and "Lord Reginald (Reggie) Hastings" (Douglas). The
William IV, Lord of Douglas William IV, Lord of Douglas William, Lord of Douglas (died 1333) was a short-lived Scottish nobleman, the son of Sir James Douglas and an unknown mother. Little is known of Lord Douglas's life which, after his father's death in Spain in 1330, he spent under the guardianship of Sir Archibald Douglas. There are records of transactions occurring in the exchequer accounts of the Lord Chamberlain of Scotland in 1331 that refer to "Willelmus dominus de Duglas". There is also a record of a complaint by the monks of Coldingham Priory to David II against the Lord of Douglas and his