Orlando (The Marmalade Cat) is the fictional eponymous hero of the series (of the same name) of 19 illustrated children's books written by Kathleen Hale between 1938 and 1972, issued by various publishers including Country Life and Puffin Picture Books. The series involves a marmalade cat (most likely a ginger tabby) named Orlando, and his adventures with his family and wife named Grace. Background The Orlando (The Marmalade Cat) books were created by Kathleen Hale for her two children, and Orlando was inspired by their real-life cat Orlando. When Country Life first published Orlando (the Marmalade Cat): A Camping Holiday, it became an instant success. Kathleen Hale then continued the series, giving Orlando a magic carpet in 1958, and ended the series with Orlando and the Water Cats (1972). Plot Orlando's family consist of his wife Grace, and three kittens: Blanche (white), Pansy (tortoiseshell) and Tinkle (black). The family, especially Orlando, get involved in many adventures together and make friends as they do so. They can range from going to the moon (Orlando Goes to the Moon), becoming a replacement judge (Orlando the Judge) or to keeping a large black poodle dog (Orlando (the Marmalade Cat): Keeps a Dog). Characters There are many characters in the Orlando series, many of them minor. Some of the minor characters reappear in different books in the series (for example Mr. Cattermole), while others appear once. Major Characters Blanche - Blanche is one of the 3 kittens, and is pure white. Grace - The wife of Orlando, she and the kittens almost always accompany Orlando. She often wears large hats and skirts, and once wore a wedding-dress made of fish on their (Orlando's and Grace's) wedding day, and in Orlando's Home Life wore a fur coat in the pattern of a leopard's fur. She is a tabby cat, with a small, stubby nose like a ripe apricot. Orlando - The hero of the series, he is a marmalade-coloured cat with eyes like two green gooseberries. He sometimes keeps his watch on his tail, and later on in the series he is friends with a living magic carpet named Fatima. Pansy - Pansy is one of Orlando's and Grace's 3 kittens, and she is a tortoiseshell. Tinkle - The most mischievous of the kittens, he is a black cat and owns a pet spider. He was responsible for creating the events in Orlando and the