The Wild Irish Girl

Written after the Act of Union, The Wild Irish Girl (1806) is a passionately nationalistic novel and a founding text in the discourse of Irish nationalism. The novel proved so controversial in Ireland that Sydney Owenson, later Lady Morgan, was put under surveillance by Dublin Castle. On the wild west coast of Connaught the banished son of an English lord finds remnants of a romantic Gaelic past — a dilapidated castle, a Catholic priest, a deposed king and the king's lovely and learned daughter, Glorvina. In this setting and among these characters he learns the history, culture and language of a country he had once scorned, but he must do so in disguise for his own English ancestors are responsible for the ruin of the Gaelic family he comes to love.