Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1689-1762) travelled in Constantinople in 1716 with her husband, who had been appointed ambassador there by the new Hanoverian king George I. The embassy was a total failure and they were rapidly recalled. By contrast, Lady Mary's brilliant letters recounting her experience form one of the great travelogues of their period and are an overwhelmingly enjoyable record of a spectacular court and its customs.
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