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
Lord Alfred Douglas stock market raid and no present of fine furniture". In 1924, while in prison, Douglas, in an echo of Wilde's composition of "De Profundis" (Latin for "From the Depths") during his incarceration, wrote his last major poetic work, "In Excelsis" (In the Highest), which contains 17 cantos. Since the prison authorities would not allow Douglas to take the manuscript with him when he was released, he had to rewrite the work from memory. Douglas maintained that his health never recovered from his harsh prison ordeal, which included sleeping on a plank bed without a mattress. Following his incarceration in 1924,