Elizabeth Moody (1737-1814)
by Mary A. Waters
Born Elizabeth Greenly, Elizabeth Moody grew up in fashionable circles in the outskirts of London. She was an avid reader and an apt scholar in modern languages, acquiring unusual fluency in French and Italian, skills that are evident in her literary criticism. As a young woman, she circulated her verse compositions within a small literary coterie until shortly after her 1777 marriage to Dissenting clergyman Christopher Lake Moody, a versatile literary professional.
Soon after the wedding and probably with Dr. Moody's encouragement, Elizabeth Moody began publishing poetry in the General Evening Post and the Gentleman's Magazine. The following year, Christopher Moody and publisher Ralph Griffiths founded the St. James’s Chronicle featuring the poetry of Elizabeth Moody, now dubbed "The Muse of Surbiton."
Griffiths was editor as well of the Monthly Review, where Christopher Moody frequently reviewed arts and letters publications, and in 1789 Elizabeth Moody became the periodical's first regular woman reviewer. French and Italian literature makes the bulk of Moody's twenty-six reviews between 1789 and 1808. In 1798, Moody published Poetic Trifles, containing a selection of her periodical verse as well as many new poems.
Works in the Criticism Archive
- Art. XVI. Charles et Marie.—i.e. Charles and Mary., The Monthly Review
- "Review of Thomson's The Denial", The Monthly Review
- Review of Fiévée's "Le Divorce," etc., The Monthly Review
- Art. 46. The Negroe equalled by few Europeans., The Monthly Review
- Art. 29. The Young Exiles, or, Correspondence of some Juvenile Emigrants. A Work intended for the Entertainment and Instruction of Youth., The Monthly Review
- Review of Frédéric; i.e. Frederic, a Novel, Monthly Review
- Art. 32. Frederic., The Monthly Review
- Review of Grammaire Italienne, Monthly Review
- Review of The Lamentation, Monthly Review
- Review of Le Paradis Reconquis, Monthly Review
- Art. 25. Letters of Miss Riversdale., The Monthly Review
- Review of Lettres de Mademoiselle De Launai, &c., Monthly Review
- Moody Review of Grandmaison's Les Amours Epiques, The Monthly Review
- Art. VIII. Le Malheur et la Pitié, &c.; i. e. Misfortune and Pity, a Poem in Four Cantos., The Monthly Review
- Review of Men and Manners, Monthly Review
- Art. 20. The Morlands. Tales illustrative of the Simple and Surprising., The Monthly Review
- Art. 46. Nascita, Carattere, e Alcuni Fatti Notabili di Luigi XVI. Re di Francia. Sua Prigonia nel Tempio, tradotta dal Giornale del Sigr. Clery, Cameriere del Re. Con una breve Appendice al Giornale., The Monthly Review
- Review of Nouveaux Contes Moraux by Marmontel, The Monthly Review
- Art. 19. Novelle Morali., The Monthly Review
- Review of Pictures of Life, Monthly Review
- Review of "Rimualdo" by Ireland, The Monthly Review
- Review of The Rival Mothers by Madame de Genlis, The Monthly Review
- Article 24 Review of Observations sur l'education, The Monthly Review
- Art. 17. Scelta di Lettere familiari, degli Autori pieù Celebri &c., Monthly Review
- Art. 27. The School for Fashion., The Monthly Review
- Review of Sempronia, Monthly Review
- Art. XV. Les Souvenirs de Felicie L***; i.e. The Recollections of Felicia L***., The Monthly Review
- Review of Tableaux de Famille by Fontaine, The Monthly Review
- Review The Turtle Dove, Monthly Review
Mary A. Waters, Laura Mandell, "Elizabeth Moody." The Criticism Archive, published by Romantic Circles, 2026
https://cha.artsci.tamu.edu/CriticismArchive/authors/Moody.html