Northanger Abbey (Penguin Classics)

I recently read Jane Austen's Mansfield Park and thought it was a little disappointing and full of annoying characters. Pride & Prejudice will always be my favorite, but I found Northanger Abbey superior to almost all of Jane Austen's novels, except P&P and Persuasion.

In this novel, seventeen year old Catherine Morland is invited to visit Bath with her neighbors, the wealthy Mr and Mrs Allen. Catherine is eager to attend balls and be introduced to society. In Bath Catherine makes friends with Isabella Thorpe, who is very quick to befriend Catherine and can hardly bear to be separated from her new friend. Isabella's brother, John Thorpe, always goes out of his way to befriend Catherine and press the friendship between Catherine and Isabella.

Trouble brews when Catherine meets Henry and Eleanor Tilney, the children of a wealthy and distinguished General. Catherine is immediately attracted to Henry and desperately hopes to further their friendship, especially by befriending his sister, Eleanor. There is a glitch in Catherine's plan, her friend, Miss Thorpe tries, to discourage the friendship and with the assistance of her brother, goes out of her way to sabotage the friendship between Catherine and the Tilneys.

The name of the novel, Northanger Abbey, refers to the Tilney home, where Catherine is invited to join her new friends. Catherine, who is an avid reader of Gothic novels, is in awe of all the history and possible mysteries lurking in the historic abbey. Catherine's love of Gothic novels, especially The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe, convince her that something mysterious occured at Northanger Abbey. When Catherine sees the General behave in a strange manner when his deceased wife is mentioned, and when he suddenly appears just as Eleanor is about to show Catherine Mrs Tilney's former bedroom, Catherine convinces herself that something is amiss. Perhaps the General murdered his wife or worse, perhaps she is imprisoned somewhere in the abbey!

Northanger Abbey is a parody of the Gothic novel. Catherine is so busy imaging the murder or imprisonment of Mrs Tilney, that she doesn't realize the joke is on her! Some people may not think that Northanger Abbey is Austen's best novel, but I thought it was absolutely charming and amusing. Definitely Jane Austen's best lighthearted novel.

This play adapts the novel Northanger Abbey. The plot improves on Austen with Emily, Montini, and other parts of the Mysteries of Udolpho. The scenery changes livened Austen's prose. The weddings at the end claimed Jane as the author.

A man reading Jane Austen is a bit like a woman watching an old Chicago Bull's title series - you don't want to do it at first, you pretty much knows how it ends, but it is surprisingly captivating. With that being said, this is an enjoyable book with a predictable ending but an interesting path. The extensive scenes in Bath are intrinsically rewarding due to their humor and the knowledge that girlish precociousness has made it through to the 21st century pretty much intact. For the 99.99% of the world's population unfamiliar with 2nd and 3rd tier 18th century Gothic novels, the end notes to this edition are required to understand the parody.

Plotline: girl goes to Bath, girl meets first 'friend' and then a true friend, girl visits big scary Abbey only to find out it is not actually the subject of her juvenile fantasy stemming from Gothic romances, girl falls in love, love is condemned, love conquers all. The narrative is very funny in parts, and always lively. One traditional criticism that holds true in my eyes is the uneven split between the first 3/4 (Bath) and the last 1/4 (the Abbey). Other than that, I have to say it is probably better than 75-80% of what modern writers can put out on their best day.

"Northanger Abbey" has been my favorite novel since I first read it at 15, six years ago. I haven't written a review of it until now because I hesitated to ascend to such presumption. I, critique the great Miss Austen? Unthinkable! Yet I find I must put in my own glowing praise for this delightful novel.

As many other reviewers have said, this is not Austen's most polished or refined work; it is not her greatest in terms of literary merit, scope or influence; it is not even her wittiest novel. But I think it is her cleverest work. The entire novel is a joke, and knows it. The narrator is charmingly self-conscious, as is the book itself. It is a novel that simultaneously parodies and praises novels.

I must also mention that the heroine, Catherine Morland, is unique from every other Austen heroine in that her development as a character is solely for personal growth; she doesn't have to change or refine her mind or her character to be worthy of Henry Tilney because she already deserves her hero even before her self-actualization. She does not have to learn to be humble or attentive or how to conduct herself; she only has to learn how to use her own good judgment, and to trust it.

I watched the recent BBC version of the Northanger Abbey story first and loved it. I'm a Jane Austen fan who hasn't read all the novels but I'm working on it. So I got the novel to see how it compared. It was great! I love her humor - tongue in cheek and so witty. But the thing I really want to comment favorably about is the Penguin Classics edition. I get so much background and insight and explanatory information from these editions. I've read 3 of them now and they are marvelous. I've read quite a few novels from this era and it is really helpful to have notes to refer to in the back that explain things.