Lady Mary Wortley Montagu

Alison Winch

Ed. by Janet Todd, University of Cambridge
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.05: English Writing and Culture from the Glorious Revolution to the French Revolution, 1689-1789.
Vol. editors: Paul Baines (University of Liverpool), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Pat Rogers (University of South Florida), Nicholas Seager (University of Keele)

Dates

Born 26 May 1689
Died 21 Aug 1762
Activity 1716-1761

Places

Born in England
Active in England; Italy

Cultural Identities

Feminist

Activities

Primary

Essayist
Letter-writer/ Diarist
Poet

Other

Journalist
Playwright / Dramatist
Satirist
Story-writer
Travel writer

Resources

Montagu's Works

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Although Lady Mary Wortley Montagu is primarily known for her

Turkish Embassy Letters

, she was a prolific writer who also produced political journalism, poems, drama, essays and romantic prose fiction. Due to her sex and aristocratic disdain for publication, Lady Mary circulated her manuscripts privately and only printed a little anonymously. Her reputation also suffered for two centuries after her death as a consequence of Alexander Pope's very public and vicious literary attacks. Recently critics such as Robert Halsband and Isobel Grundy have rescued her from Pope's satirical pen and assured her a place as a writer in her own right. An outspoken, witty and unconventional woman, she continues to incite critical controversy due to her provocative, humorous, and hard-hitting writing.

Lady

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2104 words

Citation: Winch, Alison. "Lady Mary Wortley Montagu". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 23 April 2004 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=3157, accessed 23 November 2024.]

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