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The Complete Novel with Illustrations
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No one who had ever seen Catherine Morland in her infancy would have
supposed her born to be an heroine. Her situation in life, the
character of her father and mother, her own person and disposition,
were all equally against her. Her father was a clergyman, without being
neglected, or poor, and a very respectable man, though his name was
Richard — and he had never been handsome. He had a considerable
independence besides two good livings — and he was not in the least
addicted to locking up his daughters. Her mother was a woman of useful
plain sense, with a good temper, and, what is more remarkable, with a
good constitution. She had three sons before Catherine was born; and
instead of dying in bringing the latter into the world, as anybody
might expect, she still lived on — lived to have six children more — to
see them growing up around her, and to enjoy excellent health herself.
— Chapter 1 excerpt, Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen (1803) |
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