Wilde, Jane Francesca (1821?-1896), was an Irish essayist and poet and the mother of the Irish author Oscar Wilde. Her books include Ancient Cures, Charms and Usages of Ireland (1890). In the mid-1840’s, she was an effective political journalist, contributing prose and verse to the Irish nationalist periodical The Nation. She wrote under the pen name Speranza. In 1874, her verses were published as Poems by Speranza.
Jane Francesca Elgee was probably born in Dublin, possibly on Dec. 27, 1821. In 1851, she married William R. W. Wilde, an Irish writer and physician. Her husband received a knighthood in 1864, and she then became known as Lady Wilde. She died in London on Feb. 3, 1896.
See also Wilde, Oscar; Wilde, William Robert Wills.
