A clever reworking of Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey. Society-watching in Bath is replaced by people-watching at the Edinburgh Festival, distressed gentlefolk by a country vicar's family, social climbers by - well, social climbers, and Hooray Henry (sorry, Hooray John) by Jeremy Clarkson. Gothic authors are replaced by their 21st century equivalents, and all in all, this is an amusing tale which will send me back to re-read the book that started it all off. The real Northanger Abbey

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Early on in Northanger Abbey, Austen turns metafictional and pens a stirring defence of the novel, criticizing those who look down on the form. She then proceeds to hilariously poke fun at the popular gothic novels of her day of course, which is all delicious. Her wonderful defence goes thusly:

"Alas! if the heroine of one novel be not patronized by the heroine of another, from whom can she expect protection and regard? I cannot approve of it. Let us leave it to the Reviewers to abuse such effusions of fancy at their leisure, and over every new novel to talk in threadbare strains of the trash with which the press now groans. Let us not desert one another; we are in injured body. Although our productions have afforded more extensive and unaffected pleasure than those of any other literary corporation in the world, no species of composition has been so much decried. From pride, ignorance, or fashion, our foes are almost as many as our readers. And while the abilities of the nine-hundredth abridger of the History of England, or of the man who collects and publishes in a volume some dozen lines of Milton, Pope, and Prior, with a paper from the Spectator, and a chapter from Sterne, are eulogized by a thousand pens, - there seems almost a general wish of decrying the capacity and undervaluing the labour of the novelist, and of slighting the performances which have only genius, wit, and taste to recommend them. "I am no novel reader - I seldom look into novels - Do not imagine that I often read novels - It is really very well for a novel." - Such is the common cant. - "And what are you reading, Miss -?" "Oh! it is only a novel!" replies the young lady; while she lays down her book with affected indifference, or momentary shame. - "It is only Cecilia, or Camilla, or Belinda;" or, in short, only some work in which the greatest powers of the mind are displayed, in which the most thorough knowledge of human nature, the happiest delineation of its varieties, the liveliest effusions of wit and humour are conveyed to the world in the best chosen language."

Of course, one can take the reading of novels too far, and that is what happens to the naive Catherine Moreland. "Catherine sometimes started at the boldness of her own surmises, and sometimes hoped or feared that she had gone too far; but they were supported by such appearances as made their dismissal impossible." Alas! Catherine misjudges; the world is not, in fact, like that of a gothic novel. At least not England:

Charming as were all Mrs. Radcliffe's works, and charming even as were the works of all her imitators, it was not in them perhaps that human nature, at least in the midland counties of England, was to be looked for. Of the Alps and Pyrenees, with their pine forests and their vices, they might give a faithful delineation; and Italy, Switzerland, and the South of France, might be as fruitful in horrors as they were there represented. Catherine dared not doubt beyond her own country, and even of that, if hard pressed, would have yielded the northern and western extremities. But in the central part of England there was surely some security for the existence even of a wife not beloved, in the laws of the land, and the manners of the age.

But then who today, in the fever of Brexit, can be surprised at the ignorance and suspicion of Europe that lurks in the hearts of England! ( )

The narrator introduces readers to Catherine, who is raised plainly. Though, Catherine has a weary view of society and the people around her due to her gothic outlook. Gradually, she learns more about the people around her and eventually more about herself. There are various characters with different backgrounds, which makes it pleasant to read the interaction between Catherine and Henry.


I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review. ( )

Catherine is an innocent in a world of complexity. An unsuspecting heroine, she is thrown into friendships and relationships that aren’t always what they seem. She embarks on a long visit to Bath with neighbors, the Allens, where she meets the Thorpes and the Tilneys. She and Isabella Thorpe become best of friends and Catherine has her eye on Henry Tilney. Siblings throw in complicated twists. Then Henry’s sister invites Catherine to spend time with the Tilneys at their home at Northanger Abbey, and she jumps at the chance, having fallen for Henry. Then within a few weeks, she is forced out of their home in a mad and rude rush by the Tilney patriarch. But why? This book defies genres and I never quite knew where it was going. But the ending was so satisfying. I’m glad I stuck with it. ( )

The kookiest Jane Austen. ( )

I originally read this in middle school, when I first discovered Pride and Prejudice and immediately began trying to read through all the Jane Austen's I could find. Northanger Abbey was a real disappointment to me. Oddly enough, the satire that I recognized so easily in P&P went completely over my head in NA, so I was puzzled by the pointlessness of a story about an unremarkable girl who visited a scary house, only to find it completely mundane.

I revisited NA for the first time this weekend, and found it much more entertaining. I get the jokes now! However, I still found the story of dull-witted Catherine and her two suitors, one boorish and the other boring, somewhat pointless. Ranking Austen's novels, I'd put this one dead last.

Audiobook version, borrowed from my public library via Overdrive. Anna Massey provides a solid performance. ( )

2022: Just finished reading this again. I get her humor more and more each time. Genius.

2015: Just finished rereading this great tale of the naive Miss Morland. After taking Lynzie to England for the Jane Austen festival last week, I have a new appreciation for the innocence of the character of Catherine. Lynzie was a perfectly adorable Catherine in Bath! ( )

3.5 Enjoyable but my least favorite of her novels. ( )

The narrator introduces readers to Catherine, who is raised plainly. Though, Catherine has a weary view of society and the people around her due to her gothic outlook. Gradually, she learns more about the people around her and eventually more about herself. There are various characters with different backgrounds, which makes it pleasant to read the interaction between Catherine and Henry.


I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review. ( )

This was Jane Austen's micky take on the Gothic romances and the stupidity/vaccuity of some girls.[return][return]Catherine is taken to Bath by some reasonably well off neighbours, who are not as socially adept as they would like to think they are. The Bath Season is horrendous ("There's noone here" says Catherine's mentor, despite the Assembly rooms being so packed that they cant move, and there are no seats to be had).[return][return]Catherine gets introduced to Henry, and manages an invite to the Tilney's old house for an extended stay. Every where she looks she imagines that something horrendous is going to happen (e.g. looking for hidden doors behind tapestries, candles being blown out for other reasons than there just being a draught). In fact, not an awful lot happens during her stay (apart from her and Henry falling in love natch!).[return][return]Henry's father is a bit of a drunk and not particularly nice and tries to put a stop to any marriage by threatening to cut Henry off (which in all gothic novels would have instantly happened and that would have put an end to things). However, Henry stands up to his father, and he and Catherine get married.[return][return](Originally I wasnt going to read this book, but watched the TV version - with "scary" music in the late 1980s so decided to read it. My English teacher was not impressed that it took a TV programme to get us to read a book). ( )

annotated fiction - social satire

Written later in Austen's career (and published posthumously), NA pokes fun at its characters and social mores. This might make it all the more enjoyable for some readers, but didn't seem to help me much. If following a socially artless/naive/dull young 18 y.o. around while she does very little and clings to people she barely knows doesn't sound that fun, I won't argue with you. ( )

It's Austen, it's good. ( )

This was quite an enjoyable read in the usual Jane Austen style.

I was completely startled to see how naive the main heroine was. She based all her judgments on things she read in the novels and didn't know anything about people's interactions in real life. I was especially amazed when she couldn't see the hypocrisy of her friend, Elizabeth. That girl was always telling one thing and doing the opposite. I have to admit that I just hated her. And no wonder her brother is not better. I couldn't even imagine that in those places and at that time people could treat other people in such a bad way. He didn't even try to listen to what the girl he supposedly was in love with was saying.

But I really loved the plotline with Catherine and Henry's love. I especially enjoyed the moment when Henry knowing Catherine's love of gothic novels tried to make fun of her by making up some possible things she might encounter in the Northanger abbey. ( )

Okay, this book surprised me in a good way. Pride and Prejudice had always been my favorite Jane Austen novel until I read this book. I never thought any of her other books would dethrone Pride and Prejudice yet here we are.

First, I loved how differently this book was structured in its writing. I loved the aspect of a narrator kind of on the outside looking in. The narrator almost seems like Austen herself.

Second, I love Catherine. She's really relatable. She reminds me of me when I was younger and still a little bit now.

Finally, I LOVE HENRY TILNEY. He is kind, compassionate and understanding. He is the perfect balance for Catherine's wild imagination. ( )

Okay, this book surprised me in a good way. Pride and Prejudice had always been my favorite Jane Austen novel until I read this book. I never thought any of her other books would dethrone Pride and Prejudice yet here we are.

First, I loved how differently this book was structured in its writing. I loved the aspect of a narrator kind of on the outside looking in. The narrator almost seems like Austen herself.

Second, I love Catherine. She's really relatable. She reminds me of me when I was younger and still a little bit now.

Finally, I LOVE HENRY TILNEY. He is kind, compassionate and understanding. He is the perfect balance for Catherine's wild imagination. ( )

Another enjoyable read from the pen of Jane Austen. ( )

It helps to know that this was probably Austen's first book, so if I didn't like it that doesn't mean I'm not an Austen fan. It also helps to know that the plight of upper class women at that time was that they were entirely dependent on men for financial security. Still, I really can't get past the vapid characters and their pointless existence. Okay, our heroine was 17 years old and learned a lot along the way, possibly becoming less vapid over the course of the story. But geez! ( )

Jane Austin had a knack for writing humorous stories while at the same time drawing attention to some critical and controversial social and cultural issues of England in the 19th Century.

"Northanger Abbey," a novella of 176 pages, tells the story of a middle class young woman, Catherine Moreland. Born and raised in an isolated village, at 17 years of age Catherine has the opportunity to vacation with a neighborhood childless couple. The trip to Bath, a well known resort, is a whole new experience for Catherine, Truly an adventure. She meets new friends and with very little previous social experience must learn all the rules of social etiquette, navigate the social terrain of luncheons, formal balls, and various other outings.

The wonderful aspect about reading anything by Jane Austin is the authenticity - dropping back in time is like entering a time capsule for a vivid picture of what life was like around the year 1800. The good, the bad, and the ugly! The strict protocol for social life, and the lack of options, especially for young women. Jane Austin focuses on the class-war struggle and the antiquated idea of people being encouraged to stay within their own social strata.

On the humorous side, Jane Austin points out the introduction of Gothic Fiction in England. Catherine is an avid reader and her imagination goes wild when she is invited to visit Northanger Abbey.

This isn’t Jane Austin’s best novel. The ending is contrived and just a little too saccharine. Nevertheless, it was an entertaining and relaxing read.

Rated 3 Stars December 2022 ( )

Protagonist Catherine Morland is invited by her wealthy neighbors to accompany them to the city of Bath, where she participates in the social season. Catherine develops friendships and a romantic interest. Her brother arrives from Oxford and become engaged to one of her friends. Catherine is young and naïve. She takes people at face value. She learns through painful experience that some people cannot be trusted.

The book is separated into two parts. The first, in Bath, introduces the characters and sets them in motion. The second, at Northanger Abbey, provides the majority of the conflicts and resolution. The writing is emotive, and either I am getting used to circuitous sentences or this book is told in a more straight-forward manner than, say, Sense and Sensibility, which I recently read.

Austen was obviously a fan of how reading can broaden horizons. She pokes gentle fun at the gothic novel. Published in 1818, during the Regency era, Austen comments on the issues of her day – morality, character, social mores, and limits on a woman’s agency. I had somehow missed reading this classic before now. I found it delightful.
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I've read this book before, ages ago as a part of a Gothic Literature course I took in college. This most recent read was for family bedtime story tie. There are some very funny moments and biting satire here (mostly of gothic and popular literature), especially early on. Towards the end it starts to feel like her more famous novels, with everyone more or less getting their just desserts, but perhaps a little less deftly. ( )

This was a delightful, bright and fun read and has several gothic passages, quite extraordinary for Austen as far as I know. The story is about Catherine, a young and naive woman who makes her debut at Bath and discovers the dangers of letting herself being swept away in gothic phantasies. But of course, it being Austen, it centers on whether or not families have fortunes, and linked to that: on marriage.

I loved how Austen addresses the reader several times, it had the same kind of effect that Trollope had in The Warden which I read right before this one; you get as close to the writer as possible. Even standing at Austen’s grave like I once did, she did not feel as close then as she did here, when she addressed the reader, i.e. me.

Although I noticed all the mansplaining of male characters throughout the novel which made me roll my eyes, I feel I cannot blame Austen for it, not in the time she lived and not when she did so much for women writers during her time and how she set the stage for those who came after. Here she presents herself through her main protagonist as a strong defender of the novel as a literary form in a time when it was rather looked down upon.

If she only would have known how revered she would be, worldwide, 200 years after her life was over!

The funniest book I've read by Austen, but not the best. ( )

Pior livro da autora, na minha opinião. Tenta trazer muito do estilo gótico, mas acho que se perdeu em meio a isso e ao romantismo e o livro ficou um pouco perdido. Ainda assim, é uma leitura interessante. ( )

I liked this a lot more than the first time I read it. I got a lot more of the humor this time around, and though both times I was compelled to read it for school, I was less annoyed with that fact today. ( )

I was glad I took the time to re-read this Austen classic. It is not my favorite of her books, but it is a very fun, light read and a great look into the conventions of the time. Catherine is a typical, though somewhat foolish, young lady, with a vivid imagination and very little training in anything of what society expects from her beyond her own threshold. Austen's spoofing of the Gothic novels of her time adds color and interest to Catherine's character.

The plot is rather simple for Austen, but the language is there to delight and the humor is delicious.

Everything else that can be said about this novel has, indeed, been said many times over. I will leave it with my thanks for the simple joy that I feel every time I pick up an Austen and sink into her time and her inimitable style. ( )