skip to content
home / edition / people/ Mary Anstey

Mary Anstey


(b. 1717, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire – d. 1756, London, England )

Gender: F

Mary Anstey, née Anstey, was born in approximately 1717, to Christopher Anstey (1680-1751) and Mary Thompson (d.1754), at Trumpington, Cambridgeshire. The sister of the poet Christopher Anstey (1724-1805), Mary met Elizabeth Montagu in 1737, presumably during one of her periods at Wimpole in Cambridgeshire, though their extant correspondence spans the period of 1739-1755. In a parallel to the easy exchange of letters on health, social gossip and literature which characterised Montagu's early Bluestocking relationships with the Duchess of Portland (1715-1785) and Anne Donnelan (1702-1762), Montagu's letters to Mary reflect an unaffected friendship. In 1754 Montagu not only hosted Mary at Sandleford, but helped her to secure a house on Queen Street in London, where she lived until her death in 1756.

Also known as:

  • Mary Anstey


Mentioned in 5 letters


Recipient of 9 letters

Showing transcribed letters | show both transcribed and un-transcribed letters in results


Please note that all dates and location information are provisional, initially taken from the library and archive catalogues. As our section editors continue to work through the material we will update our database and the changes will be reflected across the edition.

Browser support: The website works best using the Chrome, Edge, and Firefox browsers on the PC, and only Chrome and Firefox on the Mac.