In eighteenth-century England an important part of mothering was preparing adolescent daughters for adult life, especially marriage and motherhood. Young women with the right social skills and upbringing would be more likely to make a good match. Mothers were encouraged to write letters to pass on their knowledge and experience to their daughters. These informal, familiar exchanges served a number of purposes, all contributing to the development of an ideal young woman. Formal schooling was increasingly seen as part of the process: here too mothers had a role to play in selecting the school and keeping an eye on progress. Opinion was divided on the kind of schooling appropriate for girls. For devout Catholic families wanting to secure the future of their faith, choices were constrained because of the continuing influence of penal laws against Catholicism. This chapter examines the rich correspondence surviving from the Jerningham family to examine decisions made for Charlotte, aged fourteen, who was sent to a convent school in Paris, and to study a mother–daughter relationship during the two years when they were separated, in order to consider the impact of religion on the adolescence of Charlotte Jerningham.