were from the same cultural background, and they shared interests such as the love of conversation and the sense of fantasy. They quickly became fast friends. The limits of their friendship were tested in 1895 when Wilde's homosexuality was exposed and he went on trial. Leverson and her husband invited Wilde to stay in their nursery, because no hotel or inn would accept him as a guest. Wilde's and Leverson's other friendships were seriously challenged by Leverson's "grand gesture", which, according to James Scanell, is "the dramatic act of welcoming back an outcast." Two years later, after Wilde was released from HM Prison Pentonville in the early morning of 19 May 1897, Leverson and her husband were part of a small group of friends that met him at the house of Stewart Headlam. Wilde remarked, "Sphinx, how marvellous of you to know exactly the right hat to wear at seven o'clock in the morning to meet a friend who has been away!" Later that day he left for France; the next day he wrote to her: Although Ada Leverson visited Wilde once more in Paris in 1898, their friendship continued largely through telegrams and letters until his death in 1900. Charles Burkhart believes that it is most fitting for Leverson's last work, Letters to the Sphinx from Oscar Wilde, with Reminiscences of the Author, to be a remembrance of the friend who expanded her career. Reception Leverson's work, though not extremely popular, has been critiqued and analyzed from the 19th century to the present. Critics disagree on which of her novels is the best, some suggesting The Limit, others Tenterhooks, and others Love at Second Sight. She is often praised for her skilful dialogue and characterization, leading many to believe that she would have excelled in theatre. It is interesting that she never acted upon this beyond a single unfinished play; it is assumed that this is because, for Leverson, writing was a hobby rather than a means of financial security. One critic in The Bookman commented on how her lack of characterization distracted the reader from understanding what The Twelfth Hour was about. Dennis Poupard says, "some have found Leverson's characters merely vehicles for her wit, others believe she conveys accomplished characterization deftly and swiftly in the epigrammatic dialogue". John Mason Brown recommended that Leverson's work be read by "those who find laughter no hardship, high comedy a delight,