Driftwood from Scandinavia by Lady Wilde (1884) Driftwood from Scandinavia by Lady Wilde (1884) Chosen by Michael Cronin “I should like to rage through life – this orthodox creeping is too tame for me – ah this wild rebellious nature of mine.” This is Jane Francesca Elgee, later known as Lady Wilde, and mother of Oscar, writing to a friend in December 1848. Translator, poet (under the pseudonym “Speranza”), nationalist activist and feminist precursor, she was a keen traveller. Driftwood from Scandinavia recounts her trip to Sweden in 1856, which brought her through England, Germany and Denmark. Gloriously opinionated, frank,...