The course of the marriage of Elizabeth Montagu: An ambitious and talented woman without means

Based on a study of the Montagu Collection of letters housed in the Huntington Library, this article analyzes the apparent motives behind the marriage between Elizabeth and Edward Montagu and the slow but sure emergence of evidence of her growing dissatisfaction with it. It reveals the various ways in which she sought distraction from her marriage and her attempts to compensate for it. Behind her growing restlessness and frustration, there lie aspects of her character-her obsession with money, her urgent need to be constantly admired and lauded, and her need to be in control of both people and things.