7 h 43 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 7 h 43 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
Desire, betrayal, murder: what draws Catherine toward the darkest act of all?
In Catherine, William Makepeace Thackeray brings desire and betrayal into a dark tale set in Georgian England. At its centre is a woman driven to murder. The stakes are stark: this is a story in which longing and treachery lead toward a deadly act.
The book brings humour and satire together with mystery and crime. That pairing offers a sharp contrast to its grim subject. Catherine invites you into a tale where a woman's desires matter, betrayal cuts deep, and murder casts its shadow over the story.
What you’ll discover
- Desire with dark consequences Follow a tale that places longing beside the threat of murder.
- Betrayal at the heart Explore a story whose darkness draws on desire and betrayal.
- A woman at its centre Meet Catherine, the central woman in Thackeray's dark tale of crime.
- Humour beside the grim Discover the contrast between the book's satirical vein and its deadly subject.
- A Georgian setting Step into Georgian England for a tale of desire, betrayal, and murder.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this if you like savage humour, crooked characters, Georgian London and true crime retold as fiction. It suits readers of Dickens and Fielding.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- The narrator promises a tale of pure rogues
- A barmaid and a count meet at the Bugle
- Love turns into cruelty in the count's rooms
- Poisoned punch and a stolen chest
- Catherine becomes Mrs Hayes and meets an old friend
- Seven years pass and a lost son is found
- A London household built on pawned goods
- The count meets his son and then meets Catherine
- The household sours and every scheme points one way
- A jokey voice carries a grim story forward
Who’s who
- Catherine HallA vain, quick-tempered serving girl from a Warwickshire inn who wants to be a lady and clings to a count who treats her badly.
- Count Gustavus Adolphus Maximilian von GalgensteinA Bavarian captain and later envoy, selfish and empty, who wants pleasure and a rich marriage and will drop anyone who gets in the way.
- Peter BrockA tough old corporal who lies, steals and survives, later posing as Captain Wood and Doctor Wood, and who loves stirring up trouble.
- John HayesA pale, stingy carpenter who loves Catherine with a greedy passion, marries her, and lives in fear of her and her son.
- Tom BillingsCatherine's son by the count, a violent, boastful tailor's apprentice who wants his father's rank and money.
- Ensign Timothy MacshaneA tall Irish soldier of fortune, loyal to his Major Brock, who talks of honour while he robs and lies.
- Mrs ScoreCatherine's mean aunt and the landlady of the Bugle Inn, who respects success and punishes failure.
Formats and delivery
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Catherine
by William Makepeace Thackeray · 1839
At sixteen, Catherine Hall follows a Bavarian count from a Warwickshire inn into cruelty, poverty and renewed ambition.
Medium level2–5 hours to readEnglish
Excellent
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In short
Sixteen-year-old Catherine Hall carries pots of ale at the Bugle Inn in Warwickshire in 1705 when two soldiers ride up on black horses. Within a day she is seated behind one of them.
Catherine at a glance
- Reading time
- About 4 h 25 min3 h 30 min fast, 5 h 15 min slow
- Length
- 63,100 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1839by William Makepeace Thackeray
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
The narrator promises a tale of pure rogues
The book opens with a long, teasing survey of history before placing its story around 1705. The narrator then admits his story comes from the Newgate Calendar, a compilation of criminals' lives and deaths. Nothing he says is meant to be taken at face value.
Thackeray pokes fun at the Newgate novels of his day, which had made highwaymen like Jack Sheppard into romantic heroes. The narrator says he will do the opposite.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1839
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 5 h 0 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Thackeray, William Makepeace. Catherine. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/catherine.
Thackeray, W. M. (2026). Catherine. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/catherine (Original work published 1839)
Thackeray, William Makepeace. Catherine. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/catherine.
@book{thackeray2026catherine,
author = {Thackeray, William Makepeace},
title = {Catherine},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/catherine},
note = {First published 1839}
}
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What is Catherine by Thackeray about?
It follows Catherine Hall, a vain serving girl who runs off with a Bavarian count, marries a carpenter and ends up in London, drawn into a terrible scheme. It is told by a mocking narrator.
Is Catherine based on a true story?
Yes, in part. Thackeray took the outline from the real case of Catherine Hayes, recorded in the Newgate Calendar. He invented the vivid cast around her, such as Brock and Macshane, and set it all in the early 1700s.
Why did Thackeray write Catherine?
He wrote it as a satire against the Newgate novels of his day, which made thieves and murderers romantic. His narrator vows to show only real scoundrels and refuses to ask the reader for sympathy.
The author
William Makepeace Thackeray
1811–1863 · English Victorian novelist
William Makepeace Thackeray was a British novelist born in Calcutta, India, in 1811. He moved to England as a child and later lived in London. He wrote Catherine in 1839–1840, Barry Lyndon in 1844, Vanity Fair in 1847–1848, and The Rose and the Ring in 1855. He died in London in 1863.
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