The Chameleon

The Chameleon was a literary magazine edited by Oxford undergraduate John Francis Bloxam. Its first and only issue was published in December 1894. It featured several literary works from the Uranian tradition, concerning the love of adolescent boys. The magazine gained notoriety when it was invoked repeatedly in the 1895 trials of Oscar Wilde as evidence of Wilde's deviant tendencies. Wilde had contributed "Phrases and Philosophies for the Use of the Young" to the magazine, a set of humorous aphorisms. While the content of "Phrases" was fairly benign, Wilde faced cross-examination about some of the other, more controversial works that appeared in the magazine, particularly the story "The Priest and the Acolyte", which was falsely rumoured to be written by Wilde. The magazine's subtitle, A Bazaar of Dangerous and Smiling Chances, is a quote from writer Robert Louis Stevenson. Publication history The Chameleon was conceived by John Bloxam, an undergraduate at Oxford University. It was originally to be titled The Parrot Tulip, but the name The Chameleon was chosen by George Ives in a meeting between Ives, Bloxam, and Oscar Wilde in London. Bloxam showed his story "The Priest and the Acolyte" to Wilde and Ives. Wilde encouraged him to publish it, while Ives urged caution. Bloxam published no further writing after The Chameleon, and would go on to be ordained as a priest in 1897, spending the remainder of his life in the clergy.