author
Basil Montagu
1770–1851
A reform-minded British lawyer and writer, he spent much of his career trying to improve England’s bankruptcy laws while moving in the same literary circles as Wordsworth and Coleridge. His life blends legal reform, philanthropy, and the lively intellectual world of the Romantic period.
1 Audiobook
Female affection
by Basil Montagu
About the author
Born on April 24, 1770, Basil Montagu was a British jurist, barrister, writer, and philanthropist. He was educated at Charterhouse and at Christ's College, Cambridge, later entering Gray's Inn and being called to the bar in 1798. He went on to become closely involved with bankruptcy law, serving as a commissioner in bankruptcy and later as accountant-general in bankruptcy.
Montagu is especially remembered for his efforts to reform England’s bankruptcy system. Alongside his legal work, he published widely and was known as an energetic man of letters with strong interests beyond the courtroom.
He also had notable connections with major Romantic writers, including William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and William Godwin. Born the son of John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, and Martha Ray, he lived a long life that crossed law, literature, and philanthropy before his death on November 27, 1851.