A Tale of Two Sisters: the contrasting careers and ambitions of Elizabeth Montagu and Sarah Scott

This article explores the increasingly ambivalent relationship between the sisters Elizabeth Montagu (1718-1800) and Sarah Scott (1720-95). The correspondence between them provides the material for an examination of Elizabeth's marriage and Sarah's marriage and its breakdown and her friendship with Lady Barbara Montagu. Elizabeth became a wealthy metropolitan socialite while Sarah lived near Bath in a community of women, in straitened circumstances, making her living as a writer.