In praise of Violet Fane. In this undated letter, Wilde writes to author and literary celebrity Violet Fane (pseud. of Lady Mary Montgomerie Currie, 1843–1905). "I am so glad you like my little notice of your book. It is quite one of the best novels I have read for sometime. You must now write a little prose comedy in one act, (
not for acting) — no one could do it better than yourself. Let it be this: a very pretty woman writes a successful novel. This alarms her admirers who seek refuge in those who are peacefully brainless: the authoress is left to the mercy of the dull, the well-informed, the publishers, the intellectual and the ugly: she regrets her novel. All this to pass at a rout. How well you could do this. It needs your brilliant touch,"
Not in Complete Letters and presumably unpublished.