Catherine Harriet Lee was an English writer of children's literature, active during the late Victorian era. Born in London to Henry Boyle Lee and his wife Anne, she spent much of her life in the south of England, eventually settling in Bishops Stortford with her sisters. Catherine is best known for her close literary partnership with her older sister, Mary Susanna Lee. Writing together under the names "M. and C. Lee" or "Mary and Catherine Lee," the sisters produced a popular body of fiction primarily aimed at young readers, particularly girls.
A significant portion of the sisters' collaborative output consisted of historical fiction. Their works often used major historical events as backdrops for personal narratives. Notable examples include Lucy's Campaign, which follows a young girl caught up in the Jacobite rising of 1745, and Rosamond Fane, a story featuring a young James II that was later revived in the mid-twentieth century as part of the Oxford Children's Library. Another well-received historical novel, The Oak Staircase, centered on the Duke of Monmouth's Rebellion and went through multiple editions between 1872 and 1914.
Beyond historical novels, the sisters published shorter fiction, such as "Hallowmas Eve at Horsemandown," which appeared in Charlotte Mary Yonge's magazine, The Monthly Packet. While some contemporary critics occasionally dismissed their adventure stories as domestic tales for girls, their work generally received warm reviews. Publications like The Spectator praised their engaging storytelling in books like Goldhanger Woods, and their stories continued to bring pleasure to generations of young readers.