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 a "roman à clef" based on the relationship of Wilde and Douglas, it would be one of the texts used against Wilde during his trials in 1895. Douglas has been described as spoiled, reckless, insolent and extravagant. He would spend money on men and gambling and expected Wilde to contribute to funding his tastes. They often argued and broke up, but would also always reconcile. Douglas had praised Wilde's play "Salome" in the Oxford magazine, "The Spirit Lamp", of which he was editor (and used as a covert means of gaining acceptance for homosexuality). Wilde had originally written "Salomé" in