How old is Catherine Morland?

Catherine is seventeen when she goes to Bath with Mr. and Mrs. Allen, and eighteen by the time she marries.

What book does Catherine love in Northanger Abbey?

She is thrilled by The Mysteries of Udolpho, a real spooky novel by Ann Radcliffe that was very popular in Austen’s time.

Why does Catherine go to Northanger Abbey?

General Tilney and his daughter Eleanor invite her to stay with them at their family home after the Bath season.

From Northanger Abbey

Catherine Morland

Our book-loving heroine • Honest and eager

A kind, imaginative girl from a country village who loves spooky stories and always looks for the best in everyone.

Who is Catherine Morland?

Catherine Morland is a cheerful, honest seventeen-year-old from the village of Fullerton who loves spooky adventure novels. When she visits the busy city of Bath and then the ancient Northanger Abbey, she finds that real life is full of surprises, and that real people are harder to read than the heroes and villains in her books.

Catherine Morland is a character in Northanger Abbey, the 1817 novel by Jane Austen, retold for ages 6–9 by Sean Lee.

What is Catherine Morland like?

honest
imaginative
loyal

Catherine Morland’s story

Catherine is the eldest daughter of a clergyman with ten children. As a little girl she loves cricket, rolling down hills and climbing trees, and as she grows older she falls in love with reading. At seventeen, her kind neighbors Mr. and Mrs. Allen invite her to spend six weeks with them in Bath.

In Bath she dances with clever Henry Tilney and becomes close friends with Isabella Thorpe, who shares her love of the mystery novel The Mysteries of Udolpho. Isabella’s loud brother John keeps pulling Catherine into his carriage, even telling a lie to make her miss a walk with Henry and his sister Eleanor. Catherine is so upset that she hurries to explain herself to the Tilneys.

Invited to Northanger Abbey, Catherine expects secret passages and old mysteries. She opens a cabinet on a stormy night and finds only an old washing bill, and she even suspects General Tilney of a terrible crime before Henry gently sets her right. Ashamed, she resolves to use good sense from then on. Though the General later sends her home without warning, Henry follows her to Fullerton, and the story ends with their marriage.

“I cannot speak well enough to be unintelligible.”

Catherine Morland, joking with Henry that her plain words are always easy to understand. From the original 1817 novel by Jane Austen.

A moment to remember

Catherine runs all the way to the Tilneys’ house to explain that she never meant to break her promise to walk with them.

Henry Tilney: dear friend, later husband
Eleanor Tilney: truest friend
Isabella Thorpe: first friend in Bath
John Thorpe: unwanted admirer
General Tilney: Henry’s stern father

Talk about it

Catherine’s books made her imagine a mystery that was not real. How can you tell the difference between a story and real life?

Questions about Catherine Morland

How old is Catherine Morland?: Catherine is seventeen when she goes to Bath with Mr. and Mrs. Allen, and eighteen by the time she marries.
What book does Catherine love in Northanger Abbey?: She is thrilled by The Mysteries of Udolpho, a real spooky novel by Ann Radcliffe that was very popular in Austen’s time.
Why does Catherine go to Northanger Abbey?: General Tilney and his daughter Eleanor invite her to stay with them at their family home after the Bath season.