The Intellectual Life of Elizabeth Elstob (1683-1756): Community, patronage and production

Using the central case study of Anglo-Saxon scholar and school mistress, Elizabeth Elstob (1683-1756), this article explores the factors that fostered, as well as those that inhibited, intellectual achievement in the eighteenth century. Over her lifetime, Elstob experienced a series of contrasting circumstances and it is at moments of change that larger forces become visible. By analysing her letter-writing alongside published works - and through comparison with other intellectuals, their networks and experiences of cultural production - the interplay of community, patronage and production are illuminated.