This is Dorothy ‘Dolly’ Wilde (1895-1941), Oscar Wilde’s niece. She was the only Wilde to keep that name after Oscar’s scandalous trial for indecency. Dolly was a socialite, who was as famous affairs with women & excessive lifestyle as she was for her wit.
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Dolly was born in London, just months after her uncle Oscar’s trial. Dolly never met her uncle, though she idolised him throughout her life. As an adult she quipped, “I’m more like Oscar than Oscar himself”. Her friends nicknamed her “Oscaria”
Not much is know about her childhood, but her father, Willie, was a chronic alcoholic who drank away the family’s money & died just a few years after Dolly was born. With what was left of the family fortune, her mother sent her away to what was described as a ‘country convent’
In 1914, aged just 19, Dolly left London to join the war effort & became an ambulance driver in Paris. It was here that Dolly started to come into her own. She had her first known affair with another woman - heiress Marion Cartairs. Even when the war ended, Dolly stayed in Paris
In the early twentieth century, Paris was famous for its thriving lesbian culture. Dolly fit in and started socialising with lesbian writers, actors and artists such as Élisabeth de Gramont, Romaine Brooks, Alla Nazimova and Natalie Barney.
Dolly has many lovers, but the love of her life was Natalie Clifford Barney (pictured). Barney was an American playwright, poet and novelist who lived as an expatriate in Paris. She was completely open about her sexuality & advocated for non-monogamy.
Barney vehemently stated that “My queerness is not a vice, it is not deliberate, and harms no one.” As early as 1901, in Cinq Petits Dialogues Grecs, she argued in favor of multiple relationships and against jealousy. fringerebels.wordpress.com/2018/12/21/im-…
Barney had a lifelong obsession with Oscar Wilde after she met him as a small child. He saw off bullies that were chasing her and then sat with her, telling her stories until she has calmed down. Barney was completely enamoured of Dolly.
They had a passionate relationship, but Dolly was becoming increasingly dependent on alcohol and had developed an addition to heroin as well. She struggled with Barney’s other lovers & often felt pushed aside.
Dolly also had severe battles with depression & tried to kill herself several times - particularly when her relationships were in trouble. She became notorious for her wild ways, and although she tried several times, just couldn’t beat her addictions.
Dolly was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1939 but she refused any medical care or to stop drinking and taking heroin. When WW2 broke out, Barney finally couldn’t take anymore & left for Italy.
Dolly returned to England and died on the 10th April 1941. The cause of death was recorded as “unascertainable” because she had been found with a bottle of paraldehyde, a strong sedative. She was 46, the same age as Oscar Wilde was when he died in Paris.
If you would like to read more about Dolly, Joan Schenkar’s biography “Truly Wilde” is excellent
joanschenkar.com/_i_truly_wilde…
joanschenkar.com/_i_truly_wilde…
