Mary Wortley Montagu

Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (née Pierrepont) was born on 15 May 1689 at Holme Pierrepont Hall in Nottinghamshire, England. She was baptized on 26 May 1689 at St. Paul's Church in Covent Garden, London. She was the eldest child of Evelyn Pierrepont, 1st Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull, and Lady Mary Feilding, who was the daughter of the third Earl of Denbigh. Lady Mary had three younger siblings: two sisters named Frances and Evelyn, and a brother named William.

Her childhood was characterized by a natural curiosity and intellectual ambition. Despite the death of her mother in 1697 and her subsequent upbringing by her grandmother Elizabeth Pierrepont, Lady Mary displayed a keen interest in learning. Her formal education was limited, as her governess provided what she later described as a poor education, focusing on superstitions and false notions. To supplement her education, Lady Mary extensively used her family’s library at Thoresby Hall, where she taught herself Latin and read a wide array of works, including plays by Beaumont and Fletcher, Dryden, Rowe, Lee, Otway, and French and English romances like "Grand Cyrus," "Pharamond," "Almahide," and "Parthenissa." By age thirteen, she had achieved a proficiency in Latin comparable to many men of her time. She also composed poetry, wrote a brief epistolary novel, and created a romance modeled after Aphra Behn’s "Voyage to the Isle of Love," by her mid-teens.

Mary Pierrepont's social life included associations with members of the Kit-Cat Club, a group of fashionable men, who once nominated her as a toast to the season’s beauty when she was only seven years old. She engaged in relationships with bishops Thomas Tenison and Gilbert Burnet, who provided additional academic guidance.

In 1710, she became engaged to Edward Wortley Montagu, son of Sidney Wortley Montagu. Their relationship began through mutual friends, particularly Anne Wortley, Edward’s sister. They maintained correspondence through letters, often filled with gossip and compliments. In 1711, her father, the Marquess of Dorchester, and Edward Wortley Montagu negotiated a marriage agreement with stipulations regarding entailment of Wortley's estate, which he refused to accept unless certain financial conditions were met. The negotiations included public proposals and newspaper disclosures designed to influence the marriage decision.

Despite the negotiations, Lady Mary continued her correspondence with Edward, which eventually led to her promise to cease contact upon her father's orders. However, she later expressed her own feelings of independence and refused to abandon her relationship with Edward. Their courtship was ultimately interrupted by her father, who arranged her marriage to Edward Martini, a man of the family’s choosing.

In 1712, Lady Mary married Edward Wortley Montagu. During his appointment as British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Lady Mary accompanied him to Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul), where she spent approximately two years. Her observations and writings from this period, particularly her Turkish Embassy Letters, provide a detailed account of her experiences as a woman living in Ottoman Constantinople. These letters are noted as an early example of a secular female perspective on the Muslim Orient.

Upon her return to England, Lady Mary focused on her family and personal projects. She played an active role in promoting smallpox inoculation in Britain, an initiative she advocated based on her observations in Turkey. She remained socially connected with high society, including the court of King George I and the Prince of Wales, later King George II.

Lady Mary Wortley Montagu died from cancer on 21 August 1762. Her writings, particularly her correspondence from her time in the Ottoman Empire, remain notable for their cultural and historical insights, and she is recognized for her contributions to medicine and her progressive views on women’s intellectual and social rights.