Mărgărita Miller-Verghy (; first name also Margareta,ărgă surname also Miller-Verghi, Miller-Vergy; full name also Marg. M-V.; January 1, 1865 – December 31, 1953) was a Romanian socialite and author, also known as a schoolteacher, journalist, critic and translator. A cultural animator, she hosted a literary club of Germanophile tendencies during the early part of World War I, and was later involved with Adela Xenopol in setting up feminist cultural venues. Her main contributions to Romanian literature include translations from English literature, a history of feminine writing in the national context, a novella series and an influential work of detective fiction. Many of her other works have been described as mediocre and didactic.
Although an accident left her completely blind, Miller-Verghy remained active as both a writer and feminist during the 1920s and '30s. She helped in setting up charity networks, founded some of Romania's first women's associations, and was a pioneer of Romanian Scouting. Around 1940, she was also known for her work in radio drama.
As a socialite, Miller-Verghy was noted for her close relationships with prominent cultural figures of her lifetime. Among them were the acclaimed writers Barbu Ștefănescu Delavrancea, Mateiu Caragiale and Lucia Demetrius, as well as musician Cella Delavrancea.
Biography
Early life
Born in the city of Iași, Mărgărita Miller-Verghy was of partial Polish-Romanian descent. Her mother, Elena Verghy, belonged to the boyar aristocracy of Moldavia region; her father, Elena's second husband, was a descendant of the Counts Milewski, but used the name Gheorghe Miller. In addition to his teaching career, Gheorghe was politically active, holding a seat in the Senate of Romania. The family was related to that of authors Ionel and Păstorel Teodoreanu, and Mărgărita was also akin to members of the aristocratic Ghica family, being an aunt of socialite Grigore "Grigri" Ghica.
Gheorghe Miller died suddenly in 1869. His widow took the daughters to Switzerland, where young Mărgărita, wrongly diagnosed with Pott disease, was supposed to receive specialized treatment. They spent some eight years abroad, during which time Mărgărita, a gifted but sickly child, acquired a standard classical culture and learned to speak six languages.
The family settled in Bucharest in the 1870s, having by then spent most of their Miller inheritance. Mărgărita enlisted at the in Bucharest. Elena Verghy ran a girls' school, noted for being the first one in Romania to hold Baccalaureate examinations for women (1874), and for employing as teachers some of Romania's literary celebrities. Mărgărita attended her mother's institution, but took her Baccalaureate at Elena Doamna High School, in 1877.
Around that time, Mărgărita's older sister, also named Elena, married Justice Alexandru Lupașcu. The three Miller-Verghys had effectively adopted Ștefănescu Delavrancea, a debutant writer of lowly origins, who later became a hero of the Romanian neoromantic circles. The adolescent Miller-Verghy was especially close to Ștefănescu Delavrancea, with whom she corresponded. He courted her for a while, but ultimately proposed to Mary, the daughter of Alexandru and Elena Lupașcu; they were married in February 1887.
All three women frequented the high end of literary societies, keeping company with V. A. Urechia, August Treboniu Laurian and, allegedly, Edmond de Goncourt. In the 1880s Mărgărita was also acquainted with Mihai Eminescu, later recognized as Romania's national poet. She began her own writing career in 1883, when one of her novellas was published by Națiunea daily, under the signature Marmill. In 1892, she tried her hand at translating into French some of Eminescu's works, as possibly the first-ever person to have published such poetry translations. There resulted a volume in her translation, Quelques poésies de Michaïl Eminesco ("Some of Mihai Eminescu's Poems"). Its first draft was published in Geneva in 1901. Prefaced by poet Alexandru Vlahuță, it was rated a "remarkable" contribution by the staff of Familia magazine.