Wilde's only novel first published in 1890 is a brilliantly designed puzzle intended to tease conventional minds with its exploration of the myriad interrelationships between art life & consequence. From its provocative Preface challenging the reader to believe in 'art for art's sake' to its sensational conclusion the story self-consciously experiments with the notion of sin as an element of design. Yet Wilde himself underestimated the consequences of his experiment & its capacity to outrage the Victorian establishment. Its words returned to haunt him in his court appearances in 1895 & he later recalled the 'note of doom' which runs like 'a violet thread' through its carefully crafted prose.