Memoirs of Eminent Englishwomen

Biographies of two notable women who lived in the eighteenth century, compiled using their correspondence, and originally published in 1844.

An intimate portrayal of the lives of two prominent noblewomen, using their own letters and diaries to chart lives of political intrigue, scandal and tragedy. Originally published in 1844 by Louisa Stuart Costello, this volume examines the characters and motivations of women at the political centre of British life.Louisa Stuart Costello (1799–1870) was a poet and artist who supported her family with her paintings. As well as writing a number of historical novels, Costello researched and wrote the biographies of many prominent women, using their letters and diaries to tell their extraordinary stories. This fourth volume chronicles the lives of two women; politician and courtier Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, and poet and satirist Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, was the close confidante of Queen Anne, and her memoirs offer a detailed picture of the rise and decline of the long friendship between two women at the centre of political life. Lady Mary was an intrepid traveller, an early advocate of inoculation for smallpox, and a feminist poet who had a bitter feud with Alexander Pope. For more information on this author, see http://orlando.cambridge.org/public/svPeople?person_id=costlo