Catherine Talbot

At the time of his death Catherine Benson (sister of Martin Benson, bishop of Gloucester) was residing at his house, and on her marriage to Thomas Secker, a protégé of Talbot, in 1725, Mrs. Talbot and Catherine, who were not well-off, went to live with the newly married couple and remained members of the household until Secker's death in 1768.

As Secker was successively rector of St. James's, Westminster, bishop of Oxford, dean of St. Paul's, and finally in 1758 archbishop of Canterbury, Catherine Talbot frequented the society of her time.

She knew among others Bishop Butler, Lord Lyttelton, William Pulteney, earl of Bath, Mrs. Montagu, the Duchess of Somerset, with whom she often stayed at Percy Lodge, and Samuel Richardson.

Her health prevented continuous work, but she wrote essays and detached pieces in a ‘green book,’ constantly referred to by her friends.

In 1770 Elizabeth Carter published at her own expense Catherine Talbot's Reflections on the Seven Days of the Week, a work that was constantly reprinted.

Her correspondence with Elizabeth Carter, published in 1809, shows an interest in public affairs, observation of men and manners, and affection for her friends.