Katherine Thomson (1797–1862) (née Byerley, also as Mrs A. T. Thomson, pseudonym Grace Wharton) was an English writer, known as a novelist and historian.

Life

She was the seventh daughter of Thomas Byerley of Etruria, Staffordshire, a nephew by marriage and sometime partner and manager of the pottery works of Josiah Wedgwood. Her sister was

Maria Byerley Maria Byerley (1787 – 2 April 1843) was a British schoolmistress in Warwick and Stratford upon Avon. The school for girls she co-founded with her sister Frances Parkes had several notable pupils. Life She was the daughter of Thomas Byerley of E ...

who founded a school. She married, in 1820, the physician

Anthony Todd Thomson Anthony Todd Thomson (7 January 1778 – 3 July 1849) was a Scottish doctor and pioneer of dermatology. Life Anthony Todd Thomson was the younger son of Alexander Thomson and was born in Edinburgh, where his parents were staying temporarily, on ...

, as his second wife. During their residence in London, for some of the time at

Hinde Street Hinde Street is a street in the Marylebone district of the City of Westminster, London, that contains the Hinde Street Methodist Church and was home to the novelist Rose Macaulay until her death. Location Hinde Street runs from Manchester Sq ...

, Marylebone, she and her husband assembled an artistic and literary circle, among their earlier friends being Thomas Campbell (poet), David Wilkie (artist), James Mackintosh,

Francis Jeffrey, Lord Jeffrey Francis Jeffrey, Lord Jeffrey (23 October 1773 – 26 January 1850) was a Scottish judge and literary critic. Life He was born at 7 Charles Street near Potterow in south Edinburgh, the son of George Jeffrey, a clerk in the Court of Session ...

, and

Lord Cockburn Henry Thomas Cockburn of Bonaly, Lord Cockburn ( ; Cockpen, Midlothian, 26 October 1779 – Bonaly, Midlothian, 26 April/18 July 1854) was a Scottish lawyer, judge and literary figure. He served as Solicitor General for Scotland between 1830 an ...

. Later, in

Welbeck Street Welbeck Street is a street in the West End, central London. It has historically been associated with the medical profession. Location The street runs approximately north–south between New Cavendish Street at the northern end, crossing Wigm ...

, they saw much of Thackeray,

Robert Browning Robert Browning (7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose dramatic monologues put him high among the Victorian poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentary, historical settings ...

, and also of

Edward Bulwer-Lytton Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton, PC (25 May 180318 January 1873) was an English writer and politician. He served as a Whig member of Parliament from 1831 to 1841 and a Conservative from 1851 to 1866. He was Secret ...

, who became a close friend. After her husband's death in 1849 she lived abroad for some years. In 1860, she suffered the drowning of her son,

John Cockburn Thomson John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Seco ...

. She returned to London, and died at

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

on 17 December 1862.

Works

Biographies

At her husband's suggestion, Thomson began biographical compilation, starting with a brief ''Life of Wolsey'' for the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, in 1824. She developed anecdotal biography, as used by

Isaac D'Israeli Isaac D'Israeli (11 May 1766 – 19 January 1848) was a British writer, scholar and the father of British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. He is best known for his essays and his associations with other men of letters. Life and career Isaac wa ...

John Heneage Jesse John Heneage Jesse (1809 – 7 July 1874), English historian, son of Edward Jesse, was educated at Eton and became a clerk in the secretary's department of the Admiralty. His poem on Mary, Queen of Scots was published about 1831, and was fol ...

, and

Agnes Strickland Agnes Strickland (18 July 1796 – 8 July 1874) was an English historical writer and poet. She is particularly remembered for her ''Lives of the Queens of England'' (12 vols, 1840–1848). Biography The daughter of Thomas Strickland and his wi ...

. It gave her material for a series of

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...

s, anticipating those of

Emma Marshall Emma Marshall (1830–1899) was an English children's author who wrote more than 200 novels. Life She was the youngest daughter of Simon Martin, a partner in Gurney's Norwich bank, who was married, at St Michael-at-Plea, Norwich, in 1809, Han ...

. Thomson's main historical and biographical compilations were: * ''Memoirs of the Court of

Henry the Eighth Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

'', London, 1826, 2 vols. * ''Memoirs of the Life of

Sir Walter Ralegh Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebellion ...

'', 1830, (two American editions). * ''Memoirs of Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, and of the Court of Queen Anne'', 1838, 2 vols. * ''Memoirs of the Jacobites of 1715 and 1745'', 1845 and 1846, 3 vols. Together with notices of some minor actors, this contains lives of John Erskine, Earl of Mar; James Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Derwentwater;

Donald Cameron of Lochiel Donald Cameron of Lochiel (c. 1695 – 1748), popularly known as the Gentle Lochiel, was a Scottish Jacobite and hereditary chief of Clan Cameron, traditionally loyal to the exiled House of Stuart. His father John was permanently exiled after ...

;

William Maxwell, 5th Earl of Nithsdale {{Infobox noble, type , name = William Maxwell , title = 5th Earl of Nithsdale , image = , caption = , alt = , CoA = , more = no , succession ...

; William Gordon, 6th Viscount of Kenmure;

William Murray, Marquess of Tullibardine William Murray, Marquess of Tullibardine (14 April 1689 – 9 July 1746) was a Scottish nobleman and Jacobite who took part in the rebellions of 1715, 1719, and 1745. Attainted for his role in 1715, his younger brother James succeeded as ...

; Rob Roy; Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat; Lord George Murray;

Flora Macdonald Flora MacDonald ( Gaelic: ''Fionnghal nic Dhòmhnaill'', 1722 - 5 March 1790) was a member of Clan Macdonald of Sleat, best known for helping Charles Edward Stuart evade government troops after the Battle of Culloden in April 1746. Her famil ...

; and William Boyd, 4th Earl of Kilmarnock. * ''Memoirs of Viscountess Sundon, Mistress of the Robes to Queen Caroline, including Letters from the most celebrated Persons of her Time'', 1847, 2 vols.; 1850, 2 vols. This work was criticised for inaccuracies, in the ''

Quarterly Review The ''Quarterly Review'' was a literary and political periodical founded in March 1809 by London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River ...

''. * ''Recollections of Literary Characters and Celebrated Places'', 1854, 2 vols., chapters of anecdotal topography which had originally appeared in '' Bentley's Miscellany'' and '' Fraser's Magazine'', under the signature "A Middle-aged Man". * ''Life and Times of George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham'', 1860, 3 vols. * ‘Celebrated Friendships,’ 1861, 2 vols. This contains chapters on John Evelyn and Robert Boyle; Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey and Thomas Wyatt (poet); Marie-Antoinette and Marie Thérèse Louise of Savoy, Princesse de Lamballe; Kenelm Digby and

Anthony van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (, many variant spellings; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Brabantian Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Southern Netherlands and Italy. The seventh c ...

; Philip Sidney and Fulke Greville, 1st Baron Brooke; Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Charles Lamb;

François Fénelon François de Salignac de la Mothe-Fénelon (), more commonly known as François Fénelon (6 August 1651 – 7 January 1715), was a French Catholic archbishop, theologian, poet and writer. Today, he is remembered mostly as the author of '' Th ...

and Jeanne Guyon; William Cowper and

Mary Unwin Mary Unwin (1724–1796) was a British woman, notable as a friend of William Cowper, one of the most popular poets of their day. Life Mary Unwin was the daughter of William Cawthorne, a draper of Ely, who was born in that city in 1724. Hayley ...

;

David Garrick David Garrick (19 February 1717 – 20 January 1779) was an English actor, playwright, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of European theatrical practice throughout the 18th century, and was a pupil and friend of Sa ...

and Kitty Clive; and Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon and Lucius Cary, 2nd Viscount Falkland.

Novels

Mrs. Thomson also wrote: * ''Constance'' (novel), 1833, 3 vols. * ''Rosabel'', 1835. * ''Lady Annabella'', 1837. * ''Anne Boleyn'', 1842, several editions. * ''Widows and Widowers'', 1842, several editions. * ''Ragland Castle'', 1843. * ''White Mask'', 1844. * ''The Chevalier'', 1844 and 1857. * ''Tracey; or the Apparition'', 1847. * ''Carew Ralegh'', 1857. * ''Court Secrets'', 1857, dealing with the story of

Caspar Hauser Kaspar Hauser (30 April 1812 – 17 December 1833) was a German youth who claimed to have grown up in the total isolation of a darkened cell. Hauser's claims, and his subsequent death from a stab wound to his left breast, sparked much debate an ...

. * ''Faults on Both Sides'', 1858.

Co-authorship

Under the pseudonym of Grace Wharton she was joint author with her son,

, of * ''The Queens of Society'', 1860, 2 vols., 3rd ed. 1867; short biographies of Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, Madame Roland, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, Letitia Elizabeth Landon (L.E.L.),

Madame de Sevigne Madame may refer to: * Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French * Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel * ''Madame'' ( ...

, Sydney, Lady Morgan,

Jane Gordon, Duchess of Gordon Jane Gordon, Duchess of Gordon (''née'' Maxwell; 1748 or 1749 – 14 April 1812) was a Scottish Tory political hostess. Together with her husband Alexander, 4th Duke of Gordon, and son George, Marquess of Huntly (the future 5th Duke of Gordon ...

Madame Recamier Madame may refer to: * Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French * Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel * ''Madame'' ...

Mary Hervey Mary Hervey, Lady Hervey (''née'' Lepell; c.1700 – 2 September 1768) was an English courtier. Family and early life Born around 1700, Mary Lepell was the daughter of Brigadier-general Nicholas Wedig Lepell and his wife, Mary Brooke, daughte ...

Madame de Stael Madame may refer to: * Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French * Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel * ''Madame'' ...

, Mrs Thrale, Lady Caroline Lamb, Anne Seymour Damer,

Marie Anne de Vichy-Chamrond, marquise du Deffand Marie Anne de Vichy-Chamrond, marquise du Deffand (25 September 1696 – 23 September 1780) was a French hostess and patron of the arts. Life Madame du Deffand was born at the Château de Chamrond, in Ligny-en-Brionnais, a village near Charolle ...

, Elizabeth Montagu, Mary Herbert, Countess of Pembroke, Françoise d'Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon. * ''The Wits and Beaux of Society'', 1860, 2 vols., 2nd ed. revised 1861; and * ''The Literature of Society'', 1862, 2 vols. The Byerley family were descended from

Robert Byerley Robert Byerley (1660–1714), of Middridge Grange, Heighington, County Durham, and Goldsborough, Yorkshire, was an English soldier and Tory politician who sat in the English House of Commons, English and House of Commons of Great Britain, Br ...

(1660–1714), a Member of Parliament; he married Mary, daughter of Philip Wharton and great-niece of Philip Wharton, 4th Baron Wharton. This relationship was the source of the pseudonyms taken by Katherine Thomson and her son.

Family

Her marriage produced three sons, including Henry William Thomson, and five daughters.

References

Notes

;Attribution

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomson, Katherine 1797 births 1862 deaths 19th-century English historians 19th-century English novelists 19th-century British women writers British women historians British biographers 19th-century pseudonymous writers Pseudonymous women writers