Mrs. Montagu

Elizabeth Montagu (1718–1800), born Elizabeth Robinson in Yorkshire, was an English writer and the most celebrated hostess of her age. She married the wealthy Edward Montagu in 1742 and after his death managed his coal mines and estates herself, building Montagu House in Portman Square. Her assemblies in Hill Street gathered Johnson, Burke, Reynolds, Garrick, Hannah More and Elizabeth Carter, and gave the bluestocking circle its name. She contributed three dialogues to Lord Lyttelton's Dialogues of the Dead and published an Essay on the Writings and Genius of Shakespear in 1769 defending him against Voltaire. Emily Climenson edited her early letters.