Elizabeth Montagu
Elizabeth Montagu (* 2. October 1718 in Yorkshire , † 25. August 1800 in London ) was an English salon lady , writer and patron , the " bluestocking co-founded" movement in 18th century England (Blue Stockings Society).
Life
Elizabeth Montague was the eldest of three daughters (she also had a brother, Matthew Robinson) of Matthew Robinson and Elizabeth Drake Robinson. Her grandfather was the Cambridge scholar Dr. Conyers Middleton , with whom she spent a lot of time with her sisters in her youth and received lessons in languages (Latin, Italian, French) and literature. Her sister Sarah Scott also later became a writer. Elizabeth Montague had early access to literary circles through her close friend Lady Margaret Harley, with whom she often lived in London. B. Edward Young . In 1742 she married the very wealthy, 28 years her senior Edward Montagu (1692-1775), who owned extensive estates in Northumberland (with a family seat in Newcastle upon Tyne ) and several coal mines. With him she had a son, who died in 1744.
Elizabeth Montagu opened her own literary salon in London around 1750, which was one of the leading meeting places of this kind in London around 1770 and established the term “blue stocking” for intellectual women in England. There you met u. a. George Lyttleton , Samuel Johnson , Joshua Reynolds , Edmund Burke , David Garrick , Horace Walpole . There were also a number of female authors whom she patronized, such as Elizabeth Carter , Frances Burney , Sarah Fielding , Hannah More , and, for example, Samuel Johnson's friend Hester Thrale .
Montagu's own works included the satire Dialogues of the Dead (1760, anonymous) and An Essay on the Writings and Genius of Shakespear (1769, initially also anonymous, 1777 under her name), which shows her as a Shakespeare admirer. Montagu was also a good business woman and added to her husband's fortune. In London she built "Montagu House" in Portman Square and a "Montagu House" in Sandleford near Newbury , whose garden she had Capability Brown designed. She died in her London home, leaving her fortune to her late brother's son, Matthew Robinson, whom she adopted.
literature
- Emily J. Climenson (Editor): Elizabeth Montagu, the Queen of the Blue Stockings: Her Correspondence from 1720 to 1761 . 2 volumes. 1906
- R. Blunt (Editor): Elizabeth Montagu. Letters (1762 to 1800) . 2 volumes. 1923
- Rene Louis Huchon: Mrs. Montagu and her Friends, 1720-1800 . London 1907
- Matthew Montagu (Editor): The letters of Elizabeth Montagu, with some of the letters of her correspondents . 4 volumes. 1809-1813
- John Doran: A lady of the last century (Mrs. Elizabeth Montagu), illustrated in her unpublished letters. With a chapter on Blue Stockings . 1873
- Elizabeth Montagu: Letters to the Duchess of Portland . 1904, 1907
- Elisabeth Montagu: three dialogues (No. 26, 27, 28) in Lyttelton Dialogues of the Dead . 1760.
- Elisabeth Montagu: An essay on the writings and genius of Shakespear compared with the Greek and French dramatic poets, with some remarks upon the misrepresentations of Ms. de Voltaire , 1769; 6th edition, 1810.
- Montagu, Elizabeth Robinson . In: Encyclopædia Britannica . 11th edition. tape 18 : Medal - Mumps . London 1911, p. 746 (English, full text [ Wikisource ]).
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Montagu, Elizabeth |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | English saloon lady, writer and patron |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 2, 1718 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Yorkshire |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 25, 1800 |
| Place of death | London |