Katherine Thomson (English writer)
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
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.[3] She returned to London, and died at Dover on 17 December 1862.
Works
Biographies
At her husband's suggestion, Thomson began biographical compilation, starting with a brief Life of Wolsey for the
Thomson's main historical and biographical compilations were:
- Memoirs of the Court of Henry the Eighth, London, 1826, 2 vols.
- Memoirs of the Life of Sir Walter Ralegh, 1830, (two American editions).
- Memoirs of Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, and of the Court of Queen Anne, 1838, 2 vols.
- Memoirs of the Flora Macdonald; 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.
- 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 Marie-Antoinette and Marie Thérèse Louise of Savoy, Princesse de Lamballe; Kenelm Digby and Anthony van Dyck; Philip Sidney and Fulke Greville, 1st Baron Brooke; Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Charles Lamb; François Fénelon and Jeanne Guyon; William Cowper and Mary Unwin; David Garrick 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.
- Faults on Both Sides, 1858.
Co-authorship
Under the pseudonym of Grace Wharton she was joint author with her son, John Cockburn Thomson, of
- The Queens of Society, 1860, 2 vols., 3rd ed. 1867; short biographies of Marie Anne de Vichy-Chamrond, marquise du Deffand, 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 (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.[2]
References
- . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
Notes
- required.)
- ^ a b . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
- ^ Appletons' annual cyclopaedia and register of important events of the year: 1862. New York: D. Appleton & Company. 1863. p. 694.
- Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: "Thomson, Katharine". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
