Life is too short for a long story. — Lady Mary Montagu (image via Wikimedia Commons) While still a young newlywed, Lady Mary's legendary beauty was destroyed by an attack of smallpox. She and her young husband drifted apart -- him, into his courtly society of polite pleasantries; her, into a world of books and poetry and, later, travel writing. She satirized London society in a series of long poems (Alexander Pope thought they were hilarious, especially her skewering of Jonathan Swift) and her travel letters described vivid scenes of people outside London. Pages circulated amongst her women friends back home, and soon enough, Mary had an audience for her wit and insight.
A Woman to Know: Mary Montagu
A Woman to Know: Mary Montagu
A Woman to Know: Mary Montagu
Life is too short for a long story. — Lady Mary Montagu (image via Wikimedia Commons) While still a young newlywed, Lady Mary's legendary beauty was destroyed by an attack of smallpox. She and her young husband drifted apart -- him, into his courtly society of polite pleasantries; her, into a world of books and poetry and, later, travel writing. She satirized London society in a series of long poems (Alexander Pope thought they were hilarious, especially her skewering of Jonathan Swift) and her travel letters described vivid scenes of people outside London. Pages circulated amongst her women friends back home, and soon enough, Mary had an audience for her wit and insight.