Carter, Elizabeth

(1717-1806)

   Born in Deal, Kent, the daughter of a clergyman, she was one of the Blue Stocking Circle of intelligent, learned and sociable women who flourished in London in the second half of the 18th century. Her mother died when Elizabeth was young and her father supervised her education. She learned Latin, Greek, and Hebrew and many European languages. From 1734, under the pen-name "Eliza," she wrote poems regularly for the Gentleman's Magazine. Her main publications: Poems on Particular Occasions; 1738, 1762; 1766; 1776; 1777. Sir Isaac Newton's Philosphy Explain'd for the Use of the Ladies, 1739 (translated from the Italian). All the works of Epictetus which are now extant, 1758. In 1807 her nephew, Montagu Pennington, published her memoirs, in which were included the new edition of her poems, some miscellaneous essays in prose, and other writings. Some of her poems: "Ancreon Ode XXX," "Epitaph on a Young Lady," "In Diem Natalem, 1735," "Ode to Melancholy," "Ode to Wisdom," "Ode, to a Lady in London," "To a Gentleman, on His Intending to Cut Down a Grove to Enlarge His Prospect."

   Sources: Dictionary of National Biography. Electronic Edition, 1.1. Oxford University Press, 1997. Women Writing Before 1800: Elizabeth Carter (1717-1806) (http://www. 18thcenturyarchive.org/women/Carter/default.htm). Encyclopædia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite DVD, 2006. English Poetry: Author Search. Chadwyck-Healey Ltd., 1995 (http://www.lib.utexas.edu:8080/search/epoetry/author.htm l). The Bluestockings: Bibliography (http://bartleby.school.aol.com/221/1500.html). The Columbia Granger's Index to Poetry. 11th ed. The Columbia Granger's World of Poetry, Columbia University Press, 2005 (http://www.columbiagrangers.org). The Literary Encyclopedia (www.LitEncyc. com). The National Portrait Gallery (www.npg.org.uk). The Oxford Companion to English Literature. 6th edition. Margaret Drabble, ed. Oxford University Press, 2000.