Elizabeth Montagu, the queen of the bluestockings, Volumes 1 and 2: Her correspondence from 1720 to 1761

About this book

This two‑volume work gathers the surviving letters of Elizabeth Montagu, the celebrated “queen of the Bluestockings,” spanning the years 1720 to 1761. The collection opens with a series of frontispiece illustrations, miniatures, engravings and photographs of family members and estates, followed by a detailed genealogical introduction that traces Montagu’s Robinson ancestry, the fortunes of the Rokeby and Morris families, and the intellectual milieu of her youth. The narrative then moves into the first chapter, which recounts her childhood, the inheritance that brought her to Mount Morris, and the early correspondence that linked her with the Duchess of Portland. The opening pages set the stage for a richly documented portrait of a woman whose upbringing among scholars, artists and patrons shaped the literary salon that would dominate mid‑eighteenth‑century England.

The letters are rendered in the formal, often ornate prose of the period, reflecting the conventions of genteel epistolary exchange. Montagu’s voice is witty, erudite, and occasionally self‑effacing, while the surrounding commentary offers scholarly context in a style reminiscent of early‑modern biographies. Readers with an interest in women’s history, eighteenth‑century social networks, or the development of literary societies will find the volume rewarding; it also appeals to genealogists and scholars of Enlightenment correspondence who appreciate the blend of personal narrative and documentary detail.