Непознатата писателка Богдана Дочо(е)ва

Abstract

This paper examines the literary and artistic work of Bogdana K. Dochova (née Feschieva, 1879–1944), a largely forgotten figure in Bulgarian culture of the early twentieth century. Best known for her book Under the Shadow of the Stone Pines (1928), documenting a pilgrimage to Rome during the Holy Year of 1925, Dochova combined travel narrative, cultural reflection, and visual art. The volume's fifteen original vignettes, designed by the author herself, represent a notable contribution to Bulgarian book illustration of the 1920s.
Her second book, Legend of Prince Boris and Tsar Simeon (1928), reflects her engagement with national history and includes symbolic illustrations reminiscent of church wall painting. A third work, The Survivors. 1877/1878 (1935), reveals her interest in memory and the Liberation struggles. Archival sources further point to unpublished manuscripts such as Let Us Preserve the Antiquities, Peace or War, and The Secret of the Fair-Faced Ones.
Dochova's career, which also included painting, music, and civic activity, illustrates the multidimensional role of women in Bulgarian cultural life. Rediscovering her legacy highlights the need for further research on women's authorship and cultural heritage in interwar Bulgaria.