Josephine Edna O’Brien:
(15 December 1930 – 27 July 2024).
Irish novelist, memoirist, playwright, poet and short-story writer.
August is a wicked month.
– 🌞 ‘The heat of late summer can make people restless or reckless’
– 🏖️ Holidays, freedom, and idleness may lead to temptation
– 💔 Pleasure and escape can have painful consequences
– 🌾 August, though beautiful, can feel excessive, oppressive, or emotionally intense
So “wicked” here does not only mean ‘evil’; it can also mean ‘dangerous, seductive, unruly, or full of trouble’.
📚 Origin:
The phrase is best known as the title of the novel:
“August Is a Wicked Month”
Published in 1965
It is not mainly an old proverb or traditional saying, though it echoes older ideas about the “dog days” of summer being hot, feverish, and unlucky.
✍️ Author: Edna O’Brien.
Irish novelist and short-story writer
1930–2024
She was famous for writing about women’s desire, repression, religion, and social constraints in Ireland.
