Catherine Talbot was an eighteenth-century essayist and minor poet, who, through her relationships with literary figures such as Samuel Richardson (1689–1761) and Elizabeth Carter (1717–1806), clergymen like Thomas Secker (1693–1768), and lesser nobility such as the Grey family of Wrest Park, is recognized as a forerunner to the “bluestocking circle” of the later eighteenth century.
Childhood & Adolescence
Talbot was born in Berkshire on 21 May 1721, the only daughter of Edward Talbot (1690/91–1720), archdeacon of Berkshire from 1717 until his death, and his wife Mary (c.1691–1784), daughter of his fellow clergyman George Martin. After Edward’s death, Mary was taken under the wing of Thomas Secker (1693–1768), the Bishop of Oxford and future archbishop of Canterbury. In 1725 Mary and the four-year old Catherine took up residence in a Secker estate at Houghton-le-Spring, Durham, and...
2917 words
Citation: Orchard, Jack. "Catherine Talbot". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 28 October 2017 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=4309, accessed 14 December 2025.]
