In the latest installment of our Oscar Wilde series, Naomi and Tim discuss Oscar Wilde’s move to Oxford, ascent as a star student, and launch in London to become one of the most famous figures of his day — a kind of Victorian-era influencer. This is a period in which Wilde begins to emerge is a writer: of beautiful fables to be read to children, and of his book Dorian Gray, which would cause a scandal in London.
Before the world knew Oscar Wilde, Ireland knew Oscar Fingal O’Fflahertie Wills Wilde: the son of a famous nationalist poet mother and a pioneering surgeon who grew up at the heart of Ireland’s cultural renaissance of the 19th century, between Dublin and famine-ravaged County Mayo.
We discuss how Ireland shaped the budding writer and how Irish politics and the context of the time are key to understanding who he was.
This is the first episode in a series dedicated to Wilde, a fascinating and pivotal figure for Ireland and the wider world, made available early for Patreon supporters.
A bonus episode is available over on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theirishpassport/posts/halfpint-irish-163604289
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