"The Duchess who wasn't" day
30 Aug 2021
No! The day isn't about a certain American royal that recently married into the British Royal Family. "The Duchess who wasn't Day" was initially celebrated to mark the tome of anonymous authors. It is also however unclear how it came to be what it is today. Who exactly was "The Duchess?".
"The Duchess who wasn't" day
Source: Prateek Katyal via Unsplash
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" wrote Margaret Wolfe Hungerford back in 1878. As an ode to the earlier texts like the 3rd century Greek ones, little did she know that this would become one the earliest citations of this quote seen in print.
The book containing this legendary quote, Molly Bawn, was Margaret Wolfe Hungerford's second novel, and her most famous one. While she went by the name of “Mrs. Hungerford” sometimes, she was mostly known as "The Duchess' '- as this was her pen name. Hence, August 27th is celebrated as "The Duchess Who wasn't" day.
The Duchess
Margaret was a meticulous and hardworking woman who was said to have set aside about three hours each morning as dedicated writing time. She supported her family after becoming a widow and went on to remarry and have six children in total.
It was common for female authors to have alibis during that era. This year, and many more years to come, it may do well to pick up a book or two by Margaret Wolfe Hungerford or any other female author. Breathe a sigh of relief that it isn't the norm for women to publish under anonymity.