Sarah Scott
Encyclopedia
Sarah Scott (21 September 1720 – 3 November 1795) was an English novelist, translator, and social reformer. Her father, Matthew Robinson, and her mother, Elizabeth Robinson, were both from distinguished families, and Sarah was one of nine children who survived to adulthood. Although born in Yorkshire
, Sarah and the other children spent a great deal of time in Cambridge
, England and at Cambridge University. Although all but one of Sarah's brothers would go on to a highly accomplished career, the most important figure in her family life was her elder sister, Elizabeth (who would become Elizabeth Montagu
). Throughout her life, Sarah was close to both of her sisters, but especially Elizabeth.
Sarah was well educated, and she was very interested in literature and politics. In 1741, Sarah contracted smallpox
, although she appears to have survived it without very significant scarring. Her sister Elizabeth, after becoming friend to Lady Margaret Harley and being introduced to the highest circles of London life, married Edward Montagu. Sarah then moved back home to tend to her mother, who was dying of cancer. When Sarah's mother died in 1746, she went with Elizabeth to Bath for a visit. There she met her future longtime companion, Lady Barbara Montagu. In 1748, the two women pooled their finances and took a house together.
When Sarah was twenty, she contracted to marry George Lewis Scott
, a friend of the family's from Canterbury
who was twelve years older than Sarah. He had no profession or private income, however, and Sarah's dowry
amounted to only fifteen hundred pounds
, so before the two could wed, Sarah, through her friend "Lady Bab" and sister, secured Scott a position as a sub-preceptor
to George
, Prince of Wales
(later King George III). Prince George had lately succeeded his father, Frederick
, upon Frederick's death in March 1751.
According to Barbara Schnorrenberg, Sarah lived with her sister, Elizabeth, and was treated as a servant, and this is why she was willing to make an unsuitable and undesired marriage. Sarah and George Lewis Scott were married in June 1751. The marriage, according to family letters, was never consummate
d (Kelly, 469), and in April of 1752 something happened that brought both Sarah's father and brothers to come to London to remove her from her husband's house. When she was no longer with her husband, she was her father's charge, and he gave her no money at all. Further, he forbade Elizabeth or Sarah's brother Matthew from relieving Sarah's poverty. George Lewis Scott agreed to pay her a settlement of a hundred pounds a year.
Sarah and Lady Barbara Montagu settled in Bath, where they lived frugally and became active in helping the poor, and especially poor women. They began a project of creating cottage industries for poor and disgraced women, and they began attempting to educate the poor in 1754. Sarah Scott had written her first novel the year before her marriage, in 1750: The History of Cornelia. It was a portrait of an ideal and pious young woman. In 1754, she attempted to generate an income by translation and wrote An Agreeable Ugliness based on an exaggeratedly moralistic French source. The same year, she also wrote A Journey through every Stage of Life, which is an Arabian Nights-styled series of tales told by a young serving girl to a displaced princess.
In 1760, with the accession of George III
, she wrote a political work about Gustav I of Sweden
, The History of Gustavus Ericson, King of Sweden, picking up on the theme of the patriot king. She also wrote The History of Mecklenburg, from the First Settlement of the Vandals in that Country to the Present Time the next year, to capitalise on the public's interest in George III's wife, Charlotte
.
In 1762, Scott published her novel, A Description of Millenium Hall and the Country Adjacent
(her spelling). It went through four editions, and interest in it as a feminist text has revived in the 21st century.
. She invited Sarah Fielding
, among others, to come live with her. Elizabeth Montagu donated livestock, land, and staff. However, the project fell through in a couple of months.
In 1772, she responded to emerging populism
with The Life of Theodore Aggrippa d'Aubigne, which was a life of a Protestant
who fought against both mob rule
and the absolute monarchy of the king. She also wrote, that year, The test of filial duty, in a series of letters between Miss Emilia Leonard, and Miss Charlotte Arlington, which was an epistolary novel
addressing the rights of a daughter to choose her husband. It was also a partial response or imitation of Tobias Smollett
's The Expedition of Humphry Clinker (1770).
In 1775, Edward Montagu, Elizabeth's husband, died. Elizabeth then gave Sarah two hundred pounds a year. In 1778, Sarah's father died, which gave her more money. Thus, she produced no more published works.
She had suffered from migraine
s throughout her life. On 11 November 1795, she died in Catton
. By that point, she was largely forgotten.
Scott's female characters are not liberated in the conventional sense of the term. They are entirely subjugated in their emancipation, for they exchange powerlessness at the hands of men for a sense of duty, both religious and social, that removes any sense of egoism. Therefore, seeing her works as "feminist" is uncomfortable, just as seeing them as "lesbian" would be.
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, Sarah and the other children spent a great deal of time in Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, England and at Cambridge University. Although all but one of Sarah's brothers would go on to a highly accomplished career, the most important figure in her family life was her elder sister, Elizabeth (who would become Elizabeth Montagu
Elizabeth Montagu
Elizabeth Montagu was a British social reformer, patron of the arts, salonist, literary critic, and writer who helped organize and lead the bluestocking society...
). Throughout her life, Sarah was close to both of her sisters, but especially Elizabeth.
Early life and marriage
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
, although she appears to have survived it without very significant scarring. Her sister Elizabeth, after becoming friend to Lady Margaret Harley and being introduced to the highest circles of London life, married Edward Montagu. Sarah then moved back home to tend to her mother, who was dying of cancer. When Sarah's mother died in 1746, she went with Elizabeth to Bath for a visit. There she met her future longtime companion, Lady Barbara Montagu. In 1748, the two women pooled their finances and took a house together.
When Sarah was twenty, she contracted to marry George Lewis Scott
George Lewis Scott
-Life:Born at Hanover in May 1708, he was the eldest son of George Scott of Bristo in Scotland, and Marion Stewart, daughter of Sir James Stewart of Coltness, Lord Advocate of Scotland. George Scott held diplomatic posts at various German courts, and was envoy-extraordinary to Augustus II the...
, a friend of the family's from Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
who was twelve years older than Sarah. He had no profession or private income, however, and Sarah's dowry
Dowry
A dowry is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings forth to the marriage. It contrasts with bride price, which is paid to the bride's parents, and dower, which is property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the time of marriage. The same culture may simultaneously practice both...
amounted to only fifteen hundred pounds
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
, so before the two could wed, Sarah, through her friend "Lady Bab" and sister, secured Scott a position as a sub-preceptor
Preceptor
A preceptor is a teacher responsible to uphold a certain law or tradition, a precept.-Christian military orders:A preceptor was historically in charge of a preceptory, the headquarters of certain orders of monastic Knights, such as the Knights Hospitaller and Knights Templar, within a given...
to George
George III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
, Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
(later King George III). Prince George had lately succeeded his father, Frederick
Frederick, Prince of Wales
Frederick, Prince of Wales was a member of the House of Hanover and therefore of the Hanoverian and later British Royal Family, the eldest son of George II and father of George III, as well as the great-grandfather of Queen Victoria...
, upon Frederick's death in March 1751.
According to Barbara Schnorrenberg, Sarah lived with her sister, Elizabeth, and was treated as a servant, and this is why she was willing to make an unsuitable and undesired marriage. Sarah and George Lewis Scott were married in June 1751. The marriage, according to family letters, was never consummate
Consummate
Consummation or consummation of a marriage, in many traditions and statutes of civil or religious law, is the first act of sexual intercourse between two individuals, following their marriage to each other...
d (Kelly, 469), and in April of 1752 something happened that brought both Sarah's father and brothers to come to London to remove her from her husband's house. When she was no longer with her husband, she was her father's charge, and he gave her no money at all. Further, he forbade Elizabeth or Sarah's brother Matthew from relieving Sarah's poverty. George Lewis Scott agreed to pay her a settlement of a hundred pounds a year.
Sarah and Lady Barbara Montagu settled in Bath, where they lived frugally and became active in helping the poor, and especially poor women. They began a project of creating cottage industries for poor and disgraced women, and they began attempting to educate the poor in 1754. Sarah Scott had written her first novel the year before her marriage, in 1750: The History of Cornelia. It was a portrait of an ideal and pious young woman. In 1754, she attempted to generate an income by translation and wrote An Agreeable Ugliness based on an exaggeratedly moralistic French source. The same year, she also wrote A Journey through every Stage of Life, which is an Arabian Nights-styled series of tales told by a young serving girl to a displaced princess.
In 1760, with the accession of George III
George III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
, she wrote a political work about Gustav I of Sweden
Gustav I of Sweden
Gustav I of Sweden, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known simply as Gustav Vasa , was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death....
, The History of Gustavus Ericson, King of Sweden, picking up on the theme of the patriot king. She also wrote The History of Mecklenburg, from the First Settlement of the Vandals in that Country to the Present Time the next year, to capitalise on the public's interest in George III's wife, Charlotte
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was the Queen consort of the United Kingdom as the wife of King George III...
.
In 1762, Scott published her novel, A Description of Millenium Hall and the Country Adjacent
Millenium Hall
A Description of Millenium Hall and the Country Adjacent is a 1762 novel by Sarah Scott. was Scott's most significant novel. It was popular enough to go to four editions by 1778, and interest in it has revived in the 21st century among feminist literary scholars...
(her spelling). It went through four editions, and interest in it as a feminist text has revived in the 21st century.
Later life
In 1763, Lady Barbara Montagu gained a pension of three hundred pounds. This eased the couple's finances sufficiently that Sarah Scott would not need to write again while she lived. Lady Barbara died in 1765, and Sarah Scott wrote The History of Sir George Ellison in 1766. The novel was, again, utopian, but it was derivative of Richardson's Sir Charles Grandison. The next year, she attempted to create a real Millennium Hall in BuckinghamshireBuckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
. She invited Sarah Fielding
Sarah Fielding
Sarah Fielding was a British author and sister of the novelist Henry Fielding. She was the author of The Governess, or The Little Female Academy , which was the first novel in English written especially for children , and had earlier achieved success with her novel The Adventures of David Simple...
, among others, to come live with her. Elizabeth Montagu donated livestock, land, and staff. However, the project fell through in a couple of months.
In 1772, she responded to emerging populism
Populism
Populism can be defined as an ideology, political philosophy, or type of discourse. Generally, a common theme compares "the people" against "the elite", and urges social and political system changes. It can also be defined as a rhetorical style employed by members of various political or social...
with The Life of Theodore Aggrippa d'Aubigne, which was a life of a Protestant
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
who fought against both mob rule
Ochlocracy
Ochlocracy or mob rule is government by mob or a mass of people, or the intimidation of legitimate authorities.As a pejorative for majoritarianism, it is akin to the Latin phrase mobile vulgus meaning "the fickle crowd", from which the English term "mob" was originally derived in the...
and the absolute monarchy of the king. She also wrote, that year, The test of filial duty, in a series of letters between Miss Emilia Leonard, and Miss Charlotte Arlington, which was an epistolary novel
Epistolary novel
An epistolary novel is a novel written as a series of documents. The usual form is letters, although diary entries, newspaper clippings and other documents are sometimes used. Recently, electronic "documents" such as recordings and radio, blogs, and e-mails have also come into use...
addressing the rights of a daughter to choose her husband. It was also a partial response or imitation of Tobias Smollett
Tobias Smollett
Tobias George Smollett was a Scottish poet and author. He was best known for his picaresque novels, such as The Adventures of Roderick Random and The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle , which influenced later novelists such as Charles Dickens.-Life:Smollett was born at Dalquhurn, now part of Renton,...
's The Expedition of Humphry Clinker (1770).
In 1775, Edward Montagu, Elizabeth's husband, died. Elizabeth then gave Sarah two hundred pounds a year. In 1778, Sarah's father died, which gave her more money. Thus, she produced no more published works.
She had suffered from migraine
Migraine
Migraine is a chronic neurological disorder characterized by moderate to severe headaches, and nausea...
s throughout her life. On 11 November 1795, she died in Catton
Old Catton
Old Catton is a suburban village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk which lies to the north-east of central Norwich. The parish is bounded by the Norwich International Airport at Hellesdon to the west and Sprowston to the east...
. By that point, she was largely forgotten.
Lesbianism and feminism
Scott frequently expressed her love for Lady Barbara Montagu, and she cited the refusal of her husband to have Lady Barbara in the house as a reason for the couple's estrangement. At the same time, Scott's novels avoid any consideration of heterosexual eroticism in any form. However, Scott's works are also unrelentingly pious, which should give us pause from painting her as sexual permissive.Scott's female characters are not liberated in the conventional sense of the term. They are entirely subjugated in their emancipation, for they exchange powerlessness at the hands of men for a sense of duty, both religious and social, that removes any sense of egoism. Therefore, seeing her works as "feminist" is uncomfortable, just as seeing them as "lesbian" would be.