Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

 

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen.

This edition published 3rd November 2011 by Penguin Classics.

Originally published 1817.

From the cover of the book:

During an eventful season at Bath, young, naïve Catherine Morland experiences the joys of fashionable society for the first time.

She is delighted with her new acquaintances: flirtatious Isabella, who shares Catherine's love of Gothic romance and horror, and sophisticated Henry and Eleanor Tilney, who invite her to their father's mysterious house, Northanger Abbey.

There, her imagination influenced by novels of sensation and intrigue, Catherine imagines terrible crimes committed by General Tilney.

With its broad comedy and irrepressible heroine, this is the most youthful and and optimistic of Jane Austen's works.

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Young Catherine Morland is thrilled to be invited to join wealthy, childless neighbours Mr and Mrs Allen for a season in Bath. Leaving behind her bustling household of many siblings, Gothic novel obsessed Catherine looks forward to an exciting time, but Bath proves to be a little dull when one has few acquaintance in the town - until she meets the vivacious Isabella Thorpe, whose passion for all things Gothic matches her own (and who also calls on her affections as the surprise love interest of Catherine's older brother, James).

Then the chance of adventure truly arrives for Catherine, in the shape of handsome Henry Tilney, who has turned her head with his intriguing ways. Her romantic hopes receive a boost when his sister Eleanor invites her to stay with them at their father's house, Northanger Abbey. Fired up by her indulgence in romantic novels with Isabella, Catherine looks forward to stepping into her own Gothic mystery, but her flights of fancy lead her into mishaps and misunderstandings...

Northanger Abbey was the first novel Jane Austen completed in full, although, along with her most mature work Persuasion, it was not published until after her death - in a pairing of two novels that could not be more different in nature.

The story follows the coming-of-age adventures of naive seventeen-year-old Catherine Morland, who longs to emulate the literary heroines of her beloved Gothic novels - an unlikely prospect for a country clergyman's daughter. with little to recommend her beyond a good heart, easy humour, and a pretty face.

Bath proves to be a learning experience on many fronts, particularly through the influence of flirtatious Isabella Thorpe, and her meddlesome brother John. The twist and turns in their intimacies with the Thorpe family are confusing for our young heroine, and she comes to question their intentions over the course of the novel - with good reason.

Events become ever more complicated when Catherine decamps to Northanger Abbey with the Tilneys, and she gets herself into a terrible pickle through her obsessive desire to see intrigue and dark deeds where there are none - beyond a little financial ambition on the part of General Tilney.  Fortunately there is a quirky romance for Catherine and Henry at the heart of the story that ensures a happy ending for the beleaguered couple, which is rather sweet - and Henry is surely Austen's most comical hero of them all, even if he does rather take advantage of Catherine's unworldliness in his humorous joshing.

For me, this is an unusual book among the Austen stable, in the way it so obviously pokes fun at the fashion for extravagant Gothic novels - many of which are mentioned in the story, especially Mysteries of Udolpho by Anne Radcliffe. It also directly asks questions of its reader about the wildly unrealistic expectations, and actions, of the genre's protagonists in a hilariously unsubtle way, which Austen simply does not do in her other novels. I do love how she makes a case for novel reading among more weighty literary tomes, bigging up her own 'humble' efforts along the way. 

Although this one does not rank among my favourite Austen's, there is a lot to recommend it. It is definitely the lightest, and most relatable of Austen's works for a modern audience. It was fun to revisit through the lovely audio book narrated by the incomparable Juliet Stevenson on my journey through the wonderful works of Austen for #JaneAusten250. 

Onwards to a revisit of Emma next!

Northanger Abbey is available to buy now in multiple formats.

About the author:

Jane Austen, the daughter of a clergyman, was born in Hampshire in 1775, and later lived in Bath and the village of Chawton. As a child and teenager, she wrote brilliantly witty stories for her family's amusement, as well as a novella, Lady Susan.

Her first published novel was Sense and Sensibility, which appeared in 1811 and was soon followed by Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park and Emma.

Austen died in 1817, and Persuasion and Northanger Abbey were published posthumously in 1818.