Judith Madan was an English poet. She was the grand daughter of Lady Sarah Cowper (1644–1720), the diarist.

She was the daughter of Spencer Cowper

Spencer Cowper

Spencer Cowper, MP and barrister was born in 1670, the second son of Sir William Cowper, 2nd Baronet of Hertford, and his wife, Lady Sarah Cowper, the diarist, and the daughter of Samuel Holled, a London merchant...

, Lawyer, Justice of the Common Pleas, and his wife Pennington, and is thought to have been born at the family seat, Hertingfordbury Park

Hertingfordbury

Hertingfordbury is a small village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, close to the county town of Hertford. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book.-Location:...

, Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. As Judith Cowper she corresponded with Alexander Pope

Alexander Pope

Alexander Pope was an 18th-century English poet, best known for his satirical verse and for his translation of Homer. He is the third-most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, after Shakespeare and Tennyson...

, whom she probably met. Cowper married Colonel Martin Madan

Martin Madan (MP)

Colonel Martin Madan was groom of the bedchamber to Frederick, Prince of Wales, and MP forWootton Basset from 1742 to 1747. Madan also served as a colonel in the Dragoon Guards.-Family:...

, groom of the bedchamber to Frederick, Prince of Wales, and M.P. for Wootton Basset in 1723. He died at Bath on 4 March 1756, aged fifty-three. Their sons included Rev. Martin Madan

Martin Madan

Martin Madan was an English barrister, clergyman and writer, known for controversial views on marriage expressed in his book Thelyphthora.-Life:...

, author of Thelyphthora a defence of polygamy, and the Right Rev. Spencer Madan

Spencer Madan

Spencer Madan was an English churchman, bishop successively of Bristol and Peterborough.-Life:The son of Colonel Martin Madan and Judith Madan of London, and younger brother of Martin Madan, he was sent to Westminster School in 1742, and in 1746 went to Trinity College, Cambridge. In 1749 he...

, bishop successively of Bristol and Peterborough. Their elder daughter, Maria Frances Cecilia, married William Cowper of Hertingfordbury, her first cousin; the younger Penelope (died 22 December 1805), became the wife of General Sir Alexander Maitland (1728–1820). Judith was the aunt of William Cowper

William Cowper

William Cowper was an English poet and hymnodist. One of the most popular poets of his time, Cowper changed the direction of 18th century nature poetry by writing of everyday life and scenes of the English countryside. In many ways, he was one of the forerunners of Romantic poetry...

 the English poet

Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...

 and hymnodist, and grandmother of General Frederick Maitland

Frederick Maitland

General Frederick Maitland was the youngest son of the hon. Sir Alexander Maitland Baronet and Penelope, daughter of Martin Madan and Judith Madan the poet...

. She died at Stafford Row, Westminster on 7 December 1781.

Works

• Abelard to Eloisa - 1720
• The Progress of Poetry - 1721
• Verses on the Death of Mr. Hughes, 1719-30