Northanger Abbey
by Jane Austen
Published: 1817
Genres: Classic, Romance
Format: eBook (251 pages)
Source: Purchased
A wonderfully entertaining coming-of-age story, Northanger Abbey is often referred to as Jane Austen’s “Gothic parody.” Decrepit castles, locked rooms, mysterious chests, cryptic notes, and tyrannical fathers give the story an uncanny air, but one with a decidedly satirical twist.
The story’s unlikely heroine is Catherine Morland, a remarkably innocent seventeen-year-old woman from a country parsonage. While spending a few weeks in Bath with a family friend, Catherine meets and falls in love with Henry Tilney, who invites her to visit his family estate, Northanger Abbey. Once there, Catherine, a great reader of Gothic thrillers, lets the shadowy atmosphere of the old mansion fill her mind with terrible suspicions. What is the mystery surrounding the death of Henry’s mother? Is the family concealing a terrible secret within the elegant rooms of the Abbey? Can she trust Henry, or is he part of an evil conspiracy? Catherine finds dreadful portents in the most prosaic events, until Henry persuades her to see the peril in confusing life with art.
Northerner Abbey might be my favorite Jane Austen novel. One of the main reasons is because Catherine is my new favorite heroine. She’s a tom boy and she treats her life like it’s a fictional novel. Catherine is the kind of person that would yell “plot twist!” at an unfortunate event in her life. I aspire to be this way. It’s the kind of attitude I try to have when, say, I go to the ER because I’ve been awake and in pain and on Google and have convinced myself that I have appendicitis when all I really have is severe constipation and get sent home from the ER with a laxative. Again. See, in a novel that’s freakin’ hilarious. In real life it sucks paying $200 for a laxative. Catherine has quite the imagination and I want to be her in every way.
Also, could someone explain to me how Jane Austen can just tell her stories and backgrounds in an info-dumping way but keep my attention completely because she makes it fun and visual and easy to imagine? Jane Austen has this biting honesty that is delightful to read even though her books are old. Don’t dismiss Jane Austen. She writes the truth. Don’t tell me you’ve never met a person like this:
Mrs. Allen was one of that numerous class of females, whose society can raise no other emotion than surprise at there being any men in the world who could like them well enough to marry them.
– Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey (p. 7)
And I love, love, love the two ladies who are constantly talking at each other but never have an actual conversation because one talks about her kids and one talks about clothes. Jane Austen doesn’t really show many of these conversations but I can totally imagine them. As much as Catherine is living in a fictional novel, her friend Isabella is overdramatic because she’s got the lead role in this play called life. Isabella is clingy and scheming. I think Jane Austen didn’t mind scheming but I think she hated it when it was obvious. Jane Austen is the queen of sarcasm, irony and relatable characters.
Book shaming has been around since the 1800s and Jane Austen is having none of it. Catherine loves reading novels but is also ashamed that she reads “only novels.” Jane Austen has this to say about mere novels:
… in short, only some work in which the greatest powers of the mind are displayed …
-Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey (p. 23).
Overall, I loved this novel and if you haven’t read it, fix that immediately.
Content Rating: None. Clean read.
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About Jane Austen
She was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature. Her realism and biting social commentary have gained her historical importance among scholars and critics. Jane Austen lived her entire life as part of a close-knit family located on the lower fringes of the English landed gentry. She was educated primarily by her father and older brothers as well as through her own reading. The steadfast support of her family was critical to her development as a professional writer.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
My name is Jessica. I love to read Young Adult and classic literature. I’ve been a book blogger for six years and I haven’t gotten tired of it yet. I’m a very curious reader. Writing about all the questions and thoughts I had while reading a book is the best hobby ever.
I enjoyed this one as well. It’s been a while since I’ve read Austen. I’ll have to put that on the list for next year.
This book is the worst book that I ever read. I had to do a book report on it in school, and I could barely even get through it. Some points in the book I skipped due to it being horrible writting. I highly recommened that you burn this book right away and never give it a second chance.
Hi Jessica
You have got a lovely blog here. I came across your blog while searching for Northanger Abbey. I had just posted a review for this novel on my blog ( which I have just started) and was checking out what other bloggers have to say. I am a huge fan of Jane Austen and absolutely love every novel of hers. My favorite is Emma, but, I enjoyed reading this novel a lot as well. Your review is very interesting to read and I am glad to have found another blogger who loves Catherine Morland as much as I do.