Mary Palmer

Mary was the eldest daughter and third child of Samuel Reynolds (1681–1745), master of the Plympton Earl grammar school, Devonshire, by his wife, Theophila Potter (1688–1756).

She was seven years older than her brother Joshua Reynolds and her fondness for drawing is said to have influenced him when a boy.

In 1740 she provided £60, half of the premium paid to Thomas Hudson the portrait-painter, for Joshua's pupilage, and 9 years later advanced money for his expenses in Italy.

Mary Palmer was the author of Devonshire Dialogue, considered by the Dictionary of National Biography in 1895 to be the "best piece of literature in the vernacular of Devon".

Written in the middle of the 18th century, it was shown to friends and extracts were published in periodicals during her lifetime, without being attributed to her.