Had it been written by anybody else it would have passed unnoticed.

But already Oscar Wilde had a prodigious notoriety, and all his sayings and doings were eagerly canvassed from one end of society to the other.
"The Portrait of Mr.W.H." did Oscar incalculable injury.

It gave his enemies for the first time the very weapon they wanted, and they used it unscrupulously and untiringly with the fierce delight of hatred.
Oscar seemed to revel in the storm of conflicting opinions which the paper called forth.

He understood better than most men that notoriety is often the forerunner of fame and is always commercially more valuable.

He rubbed his hands with delight as the discussion grew bitter, and enjoyed even the sneering of the envious.