This is my first time reading Northanger Abbey and I a really enjoying this group read and reading everyone's postings. I feel I learn so much from you all! I have just a few questions of my own that pertains to names. In Chapter Two, Sally is referred to as Sarah "for what young lady of common gentility will reach the age of sixteen without altering her name as far as she can?." I'm not quite up on the common practices of that age and this struck me as odd. So was it common to change your name and why was it done? Also, in Ch. 5 it says that Catherine and Isabella called each other by their Christian names; does this mean that they have both changed their names already? If so, what is Catherine's Christian name? Or does that simply mean that they were on a first name basis and didn't refer to each other as Miss Morland, etc.?