Wilde's only novel, first published in 1890, is a cleverly conceived puzzle, meant to perplex conventional minds with its investigation of the numerous interconnections between art, life, and consequence. The novel self-consciously engages with the notion of sin as an element of design from its provocative Preface, asking the reader to believe in 'art for art's sake, ' to its dramatic finale. Wilde, on the other hand, miscalculated the impact of his experiment and its potential to enrage the Victorian elite. Its words came back to haunt him in court hearings in 1895, and he later recalled the 'tone of doom' that runs through the beautifully composed text like a 'purple thread.'