Wilde and his Irish connections (Joint event with NLC Irish Circle)

When Henry James met Oscar Wilde in Washington in 1882, he confessed to the young Irish man who was causing such a stir in America, that he was “nostalgic for London.” “Really?” Wilde replied. “You care for places? The world is my home.” Oscar Wilde was an internationalist who valued the richness of diversity, language and culture. Yet, as George Bernard Shaw remarked so astutely: “It must not be forgotten that though by culture Wilde was a citizen of all civilised capitals, he was at root a very Irish Irishman, and, as such, a foreigner everywhere but in Ireland.”

Wilde spent most of his adult life in England and produced all but his earliest poetry there. After he was released from prison, in 1887, he retreated into self imposed exile in France. Yet Ireland was his birthplace, his touchstone, and his home during his formative years. So just how Irish was Oscar Wilde? How did his nationality inform his ideas and output? How embedded was he, if at all, in the vibrant Irish community of artists, thinkers and writers who called London home during the 1880s and 1890s?

Biographical Note

Eleanor Fitzsimons is a writer and researcher who lives in Dublin, Ireland. Her biography Wilde’s Women: How Oscar Wilde was shaped by the women he knew (Duckworth, 2015) was widely and favourably reviewed. Eleanor is an honorary patron of the Oscar Wilde Society and a member of the editorial board of society journal The Wildean. She has worked as a television researcher for the Irish national broadcaster RTÉ, and was a contributor to BBC documentary The Importance of Being Oscar, first broadcast on BBC2 in April 2019.

Tickets:

1) Talk only: Free to attend in person at the NLC (Zoom invite will also be sent to all members to join virtually)

2) Talk and two-course dinner: £32.50 – STRICTLY Members only 

Should you wish to stay for dinner, you need to book your place by sending an email to both: bookings@nlc.org.uk AND binoederv@btinternet.com , specifying whether you are booking for the Talk Only (Free), or for the Talk and Dinner (£32.50). Also let us know if you have any dietary requirements. Once your place is confirmed, you will be asked to call NLC office on 02079680912 to make the payment.

Please note that places for dinner are very limited, so book early to avoid disappointment.