Northanger Abbey

Chapter one

Our Heroine's Adventures Begin

If you had known Catherine Morland as a young child, you would never have imagined that one day she would be the heroine of a novel filled with adventure, mystery and romance. Her father was a respected clergyman, neither rich nor poor, and her mother was a strong, sensible mother of ten children. The Morlands were often described as a fine family, but that was because there were so many of them, not because any of them were handsome, beautiful or noticeably talented.

For the first ten years of her life, Catherine was as ordinary as the rest of the Morlands. She was thin and clumsy, with dull skin and hair. She spent her time throwing a ball, riding a horse or chasing her brothers and sisters while avoiding any lady-like activities like arranging flowers, nursing a poor injured pet or watering a pretty rose bush.

And certainly Catherine's education could not be described as appropriate for a heroine. In fact, she had an obvious dislike for the classroom and never could learn or understand anything before she was taught; occasionally she even seemed rather stupid. Her mother wanted her to learn music and Catherine was sure that she would like to play the piano, so at eight years old she began lessons. But she soon gave up, and the day on which the music teacher was dismissed was one of the happiest days of her young life. Her drawing ability was also disappointing; although she enjoyed drawing animals, all her pictures, from chickens to horses, looked very similar.

Whatastrange, incomprehensible character! Incomprehensible because, in spite of such clear signs of a difficult nature, Catherine was seldom unpleasant; she rarely quarrelled and was very kind to her six younger brothers and sisters and quite friendly with the three older ones. But it still must be admitted that she was untidy, noisy and wild and loved nothing better than rolling down her favourite hill at the back of the house.

At fifteen, Catherine's appearance began to improve; her skin was brighter, her hair was shinier and nicely styled, her eyes shone and her figure was pleasing. Her love of dirt was replaced by an interest in the latest fashions and in the possibility of going to a ball. She was quite thrilled one day to hear her father remark on her personal improvement: 'Catherine is almost pretty today.' To be almost pretty is a great prize to a girl who has been plain for fifteen years.