Lady Mary Wortley Montagu was an eighteenth century sensation. Famously portrayed wearing Turkish dress, her travels in the Ottoman Empire and Europe were recorded in eloquent letters and proved a literary success. Her public spat with Alexander Pope was legendary, as were her friendships with the likes of Horace Walpole and Sarah Churchill. She’s most famous, though, for introducing smallpox inoculation into England – and for eloping, making her first marital home near Sheffield. An exhibition on her life has recently opened in city at the Graves Art Gallery.
Jane Little is joined by curator Sian Brown to discuss Lady Mary Wortley Montagu’s legacy and life.
The exhibition runs at the Graves Art Gallery in Sheffield until 3 June 2007.
