The Duchess Who Wasn’t Day 2020: History and Significance of the day

The Duchess Who Wasn’t Day is celebrated every year on August 27 to recognizes the life, times, and works of Irish novelist Margaret Wolfe Hungerford, who most notable for her book named Molly Bawn.

Duchess Who Wasn’t Day

The term Duchess Who Wasn’t Day may sound somewhat abnormal. Margaret Wolfe Hungerford used The Duchess as her pen name when she published her works. That is the reason she is known as the Duchess Who Wasn’t principally because she isn’t a duchess in actuality. She just used the term for her pen name so as not to distinguish her real identity when she publishes her works.

During the celebration of The Duchess Who Wasn’t Day, individuals give life to all the works done by Margret Wolfe Hungerford. Her most acclaimed work is a book called Molly Bawn. Individuals find out about these works and they likewise read them.

The Duchess Who Wasn’t Day: History and Significance

Who is Margaret Wolfe Hungerford

Born as Margaret Wolfe Hamilton on 27th April 1855, she started writing at a youthful age. She experienced childhood in Rosscarbery, in County Cork, Ireland, where her dad was a Church of Ireland minister. In 1872, at 17 years old, she wedded and moved to Dublin, where she had three children. She became a widow at 23 years old, come back to Rosscarbery, and soon began publishing.

Irish author Margaret Wolfe Hungerford wasn’t a duchess, yet she frequently published under the name, “The Duchess,” particularly from the get-go in her career. Generally writing in anonymity, like many women of her period, the late 19th-century novelist is celebrated today. It is unclear why August 27 was picked to respect her, as it isn’t her birth or death day.

Her first novel, Phyllis, was published in 1877. She published Molly Bawn the next year, and it became her most popular book. It incorporates the phrase “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”— a phrase coined by the author. The book was likewise referenced in Chapter 18 of James Joyce’s Ulysses.

Margaret has an exceptional style of causing a romantic novel vogue and kept to up with all the upstanding morals considered as appropriate and proper back in her time. Her published works were viewed as entertaining, charming, and ready to capture the quintessence of the stylish society during that time. The settings of her works were generally in Ireland.

Her most popular work is Molly Bawn which is about an Irish girl who disturbed up the temper of her lover through her flirtatious way and lack of concern for the ordinary social conventions during late nineteenth-century Ireland. This book is the origin of the exceptionally well-known phrase “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”

As per antiquarians, Margaret would set around 3 hours every morning to write in her exceptionally organized room where she encircles herself with reference books. She frequently published her works under “The Duchess” and sometimes “Mrs. Hungerford”.

Margaret Wolfe Hungerford published at least 57 works. She is generally known for her romance novels, which included both flirtatious dialogue and love scenes that adhered to the ethical injuries of the time. Her novels were additionally known to capture the period’s fashion sense however were not known for deep character improvement. Today we observe “The Duchess,” who wasn’t generally a duchess, yet was a prolific writer who helped make ready for ladies journalists who followed her.

The Duchess Who Wasn’t Day History

The day was first celebrated by anonymous makers. However, this day is seen as to honor Margaret Wolfe Hungerford. She had composed anonymously under the pen name called ‘The Duchess,’ and consequently, the day is named so. It was anyway unknown why the date is picked for the festival. Since Hungerford had spent her life as a writer anonymously, thus the individuals think that this day is called as the Duchess Who Wasn’t Day. Margaret Wolfe Hungerford was born on April 27, 1855, in County Cork.

From childhood, she was enamored with writing stories which even won her prizes in her school days. From 1876, The Duchess paid attention to writing soon after her first husband’s demise to help her family. Phyllis was her first book followed by the renowned book Molly Bawn. It is she who composed the popular phrase “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” in her book Molly Bawn. The Duchess had composed at least 57 works under the pen name, and it is believed that she would have accomplished more.

The most ideal approach to celebrate the day is by reading her books on this day as an honor for her. You can even read the different anonymous writers’ books and novels to mark a festival for all other unknown writers. Post and share The Duchess Who Wasn’t Day celebration pictures via social media using the hashtag #TheDuchessWhoWasn’tDay.