Speranza, a.k.a Oscar Wilde’s Mom

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In this week’s episode Kim and Amy discuss the life and work of “Speranza,” a.k.a Lady Jane Wilde, a.k.a. Oscar Wilde’s mom! An outspoken, rabble-rousing poet who championed Irish independence, she stirred up members of the Young Ireland movement while writing for Dublin’s radical newspaper “The Nation” in the 1840s. Oscar may have inherited his mother’s wit, intellect and larger-than-life personality, but his later legal troubles were also preceded by her own very public and scandalous libel case.

Mentioned in this episode:

The Rest is History podcast on the trials of Oscar Wilde

The Nation

“Jacta Alea Est” by Speranza

“The Poet’s Destiny” by Speranza

“The Famine Year” by Speranza

Charles Gavan Duffy

Melmoth the Wanderer by Charles Maturin

William Wilde (Oscar Wilde’s father)

“The Ballad of Reading Gaol” by Oscar Wilde

“The Importance of Being Earnest” by Oscar Wilde

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

The Mary Travers libel case

The grave of Lady Jane Wilde