The Turkish Embassy Letters

Abstract

In 1716, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu travelled to Constantinople, where her husband was British Ambassador. During her sojourn there, she learned Turkish and explored the city, dressed in the traditional veils of Turkish women. The lively letters which she wrote to her numerous friends in London make up this book, together with those she wrote during her journey across Europe to Constantinople. Lady Mary admired Turkish women, whose daily lives at home and in the baths she describes with relish. She gained entry in disguise to the seraglio, and wrote about the liberating effects of the veil. She admired the Turkish practice of smallpox inoculation and on her return to England wrote persuasively on the subject.

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