My rating:

add to my books

read book

Northanger Abbey (Everyman's Library)

by Jane Austen

3.69 · rating details · 52,046 ratings · 3,183 reviews

(Book Jacket Status: Jacketed)

Northanger Abbey is a perfectly aimed literary parody that is also a withering satire of the commercial aspects of marriage among the English gentry at the turn of the nineteenth century. But most of all, it is the story of the initiation into life of its naïve but sweetly appealing heroine, Catherine Morland, a willing victim of the contempor...more

Hardcover, 288 pages

Published November 3rd 1992 by Everyman's Library (first published December 1817)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

There is a good chance some of your friends read this book. Sign in to see!

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

This book is currently not featured on any Listopia lists. Add this book to your favorite list »

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 77,205)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Jul 19, 2007

Claire rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: my-happy-books, five-stars

I have a confession to make.

Secretly, I much prefer "Northanger Abbey" and "Mansfield Park" to anything else written by Jane Austen, even "Pride and Prejudice," which we're all supposed to claim as our favorite because it is one of the Greatest Books Ever Written In the English Language. I don't DISLIKE "Pride and Prejudice," but I just don't think it stands up to this one. I'm sorry, but it's true.

"Northanger Abbey" fee...more

like 65 likes

· see review

Oct 26, 2011

Ceridwen rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, gothic, janeites, rule-britannia, books-about-books, reviewed, what-would-scooby-do

There are many things wrong with the film adaption of Pride and Prejudice which stars Kira Knightly, the most obvious of which is tone. Though Austen is often mistaken for a high Romantic, thrown in with the Brontës with their wild passions and Gothic styles, rainstorms and moors are not Austen's purview. Her plots and characters are based on social realism or caricature; her sensibility is of the satirist. Darcy does not stride out over the morning grass with his coat unbuttoned, and Elizabeth ...more

like 39 likes

· see review

Dec 19, 2008

Jason Pettus rated it

· review of another edition

(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted here illegally.)

The CCLaP 100: In which I read for the first time a hundred so-called "classics," then write reports on whether or not they deserve the label.

Book #24: Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen (1818)

The story in a nutshell:
Although not published until after ...more

like 47 likes

· see review

Jul 10, 2007

Boz4pm rated it

· review of another edition

It was with some trepidation that I started this. I feared the worst, but also hoped that time, age and the changes in me might mean I could better appreciate what it was about this author that appeals to so many.

As it turned out it was a pleasant surprise.

The foreword says this book is perhaps not the most polished of all of Austen’s works. It was one of the earliest she wrote, yet was published after she had died. She did not go back to edit it the same way that she di...moreIt was with some trepidation that I started this. I feared the worst, but also hoped that time, age and the changes in me might mean I could better appreciate what it was about this author that appeals to so many.

As it turned out it was a pleasant surprise.

The foreword says this book is perhaps not the most polished of all of Austen’s works. It was one of the earliest she wrote, yet was published after she had died. She did not go back to edit it the same way that she did with other books. This shows: the end is rushed and the book very clearly falls into two ‘halves’.

Catherine, the lead character, is instantly likeable. I was pleased to finally be able to discern the infamous ‘Austen wit’ that I’ve heard so much about but never yet been able to find in my brief attempts with her in the past. For all she is the innocent, the naïve, the good, she is naturalistic in all those things.

So too Isabella (the false friend) is not over the top in her awfulness to the point that the reader loses patience. She is wonderfully, subtly horrible. She’s not wholly conscious (though some of the time she clearly is) of some of the things that fall out of her mouth, how they come across, what they say about her; though her attempted manipulation of the situation between James and Captain Tilney is very deliberate. The best moments of wit surround her and her brother.

Henry Tilney – the hero of the piece – is truly wonderful. He’s a gentleman in the truest sense. He’s witty, charming and thoroughly good and kind. Even with the episode in his mother’s bedroom, he behaves very well given the circumstances. Indeed, that whole business one of the weaker moments. She seems so different to the girl we’ve seen so far. Up till that point she’s taken people on face value, not thought to second guess them at all or suspect them of dissembling. Yet, the moment she hears that General Tilney’s wife is dead she leaps to the conclusion he murdered her.

Yes, the premise is that she is young, has an over-active imagination and has read one too many gothic novels but we need to see more of that side of her in Bath, basically. We are told it exists, but have no opportunity to really see it work until that point and it not only comes a little out of the blue, but goes to such an extreme as to seem faintly ludicrous. (But then, that is the point, I suppose).

That said, the moment when Henry guesses at what she’s been thinking is truly awful. I gasped. Out loud. And his little speech to her – basically telling her in no uncertain terms that she’s a complete idiot, though in the kindest possible way – is heart-stopping. That he reacts the way he does, however, shows him in a very good light, and is a good plot device. It is odd that Austen has him simply never refer to it again, though.

That said, there was part of me – the part that if I had read this book fifteen years ago would not have understood this at ALL – that thought ‘yeah, some girls/teens can be like this.’ It’s where the difference of years shows that I can read this, understand it and enjoy it, whereas some years ago I would have considered it utterly preposterous.

At the end of it all, Catherine is much more mature. It is then that, as a reader, you can see the journey Austen has tried to lead her on, and why: the naïve, too-innocent girl has to grow into a more aware, more sensible woman to be worthy of Henry’s love.

The ending is rushed and is something of an anti-climax. We have had 28 chapters to cover only a few weeks and then we have the engagement, the explanation, the ‘deus ex machina’ marriage of Elanor to a man we’ve never met, a year passing and Catherine’s marriage all in the space of a chapter. It’s faintly unsatisfactory. It does not completely detract from the whole, though.

All in all: a good read. (less)

like 8 likes

· see review

Mar 16, 2009

Trevor rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: literature

Having read both Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion I was a little surprised by this one. The first thing that surprised me was that the heroine is basically as thick as they come. I would have said that Austen is the sort of writer who creates the sort of main female characters that men are rather likely to fall in love with. I mean, I know women who go all weak at the knees over Mr Darcy, but when compared to Lizzy he is merely a sad shadow.

All the same, Catherine is hardly what...more

like 17 likes

· see review

Apr 04, 2011

Kwesi 章英狮 rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: owned, jane-austen, 2011

This is my second Austen book and I really enjoyed it. Yes, I enjoyed it but there are parts that bore me to death, like trying to force me down to bed. I enjoyed how Austen wrote every conversation the characters trying to deliver, they are graceful, with intent and very unique. I'm not used the way they speak and maybe if somebody heard me talking like Catherine maybe people will laugh at me or get annoyed easily. But one thing that really attract me most was Austen's Catherine, she's not girl...more

like 12 likes

· see review

Jan 05, 2008

Skylar Burris rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: classics, romance

When I first read Northanger Abbey as a teenager, I thought it little more than a clever, entertaining parody on the gothic romance genre, and a rather captivating romance story itself. Upon my second reading, however, I now see it only secondarily as a parody, and primarily as a satire on the duplicitous nature of civilized man, including (but not limited to) an exposé of the games courting men and women play. Northanger Abbey is very well written, and though it lacks the subtlety of Austen’s l...more

like 12 likes

· see review

Aug 22, 2011

Luann rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: classics, audio, 2011, fiction

I really wanted to like this! In the beginning, I thought it would be a 5-star book for me. I thought it might turn out to be my top favorite Jane Austen. But somehow it just didn't turn into the book I thought it was going to be.

Things I liked:
* I enjoyed all the talk of novels and reading - and would have liked even more of that.
* The conversations between Henry Tilney and Catherine Morland were my favorite parts of the book. I might go back and reread just those parts ...more

like 3 likes

· see review

Dec 02, 2011

Nicola rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: cover-appeal, classics, library-books, austen, romance, 1001-books

This review can also be found here on my blog.

Well, this book is slightly unpolished and probably would have benefited from a couple more rewrites (particularly the narration at the ending) but in terms of characters, plot and wit? It was absolutely perfect!

I really enjoyed the narrator for the most part. I liked the little snippets of opinion she put in every so often- it's so unusual for the reader to actually be addressed by the narrator- and I thought it worked well ...moreThis review can also be found here on my blog.

Well, this book is slightly unpolished and probably would have benefited from a couple more rewrites (particularly the narration at the ending) but in terms of characters, plot and wit? It was absolutely perfect!

I really enjoyed the narrator for the most part. I liked the little snippets of opinion she put in every so often- it's so unusual for the reader to actually be addressed by the narrator- and I thought it worked well for the majority of the book. I felt she got a bit out of hand towards the very end and would have preferred more dialogue as opposed to a general report of how it ended up but for the rest of the book, the narrator was really quite excellent!

(view spoiler)

Catherine's character really grows throughout the whole book and is developed so well. So many things happen that make her realize the world isn't as black and white as she thought and that people can be deceiving. She learns that the real world does not work like it does in fiction!

Most of all though, it was just funny! It's so light-hearted and full of wit. I especially loved Mr Tilney's story of what would happen to a typical Gothic novel character at the time and everything that Catherine did after that. The whole novel was very witty and it had me smiling throughout.

This is the third Jane Austen novel I have read and I liked it every bit as much as I liked Pride and Prejudice. (less)

like 3 likes

· see review

Jul 08, 2008

Martine rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Jane Austen fans and girlish girls

Shelves: british, eighteenth-century, romance, gothic, film

Penguin calls Northanger Abbey 'the most youthful and optimistic' of Jane Austen’s romances. I'm going to be slightly less generous myself and call it the most immature of her major works. While the story about a seventeen-year-old girl who is led astray by false friends and her own overactive imagination is delightful, the way in which it is told is in some regards quite immature. So is the heroine herself, who sadly doesn't really work for me. As far as I'm concerned, sweet and naïve Catherine...morePenguin calls Northanger Abbey 'the most youthful and optimistic' of Jane Austen’s romances. I'm going to be slightly less generous myself and call it the most immature of her major works. While the story about a seventeen-year-old girl who is led astray by false friends and her own overactive imagination is delightful, the way in which it is told is in some regards quite immature. So is the heroine herself, who sadly doesn't really work for me. As far as I'm concerned, sweet and naïve Catherine Morland would have made a superb secondary character in any of Austen's other novels, but as a protagonist in her own right, she strikes me as being rather inconsequential. Nor is her romance with Henry Tilney (who is definitely among Austen's more endearing young men) very memorable. It is neither intense and passionate (like Marianne Dashwood and Mr Willoughby's) nor ever-lasting (like Anne Eliot and Captain Wentworth's) nor a sparring match between two sophisticated equals (like Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy's). Rather it's an uneventful minuet between an affable young man and a silly young woman in which the young man's affection, in Austen's own words, originates 'in nothing better than gratitude ... in other words ... a persuasion of her partiality for him had been the only cause of giving her a serious thought.' It's an original premise, as Austen herself points out ('the credit of a wild imagination will at least be all my own'), but when it comes to central romances, I think I prefer grand and passionate to original and mundane.

The lack of a mature heroine and a great central romance isn't my only problem with Northanger Abbey. While the light-hearted tone of the book and the witty authorial voice definitely have their charms, I have to admit to finding the humour a bit too farcical at times, and the parody (inspired not just by the Gothic novels identified in the book but also by Smollett and Fielding) a little over the top. Call me dull, but I prefer the subtle, dignified satire of the more mature Austen to the rather burlesque and eighteenth-century humour on display here. I guess I've always been more of a nineteenth-century person than an eighteenth-century one. I'm glad Jane Austen eventually became one, too. :-)

Needless to say, Northanger Abbey also has plenty of merits. As a commentary on society, it's as good as anything Austen wrote later, if (again) a little less subtle. As a portrait of friendship, too, it is excellent; the juxtaposition of Catherine's friendship with the infuriatingly selfish Isabella and John Thorpe on the one hand and the perfectly agreeable Henry and Eleanor Tilney on the other is very successful. And yes, overimaginative teenage girls, gold-diggers and tyrannical paters familias will always make good subjects for a satirist, so kudos to Austen for recognising their potential and making the most of it. She was definitely onto a good story here; I just wish she had had the time to revise it before she died, as she was planning to. No doubt the combination of her youthful imagination and later grasp of story-telling techniques would have resulted in a great classic. As it is, it's just a nice book -- in Catherine's sense of the word, not Henry's.(less)

like 12 likes

· see review

May 24, 2007

Kelly rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: jane austen fans, young women

Shelves: fiction, brit-lit, regency, mawwiageiswhatbringsustogethertoday, 19th-century

This is one of the lesser regarded Austens. It has nowhere near the fan club that the Holy Trinity of Austen (Pride and Prejudice, Emma and Sense and Sensibility) has. It's one of her first books (if not the first), and it's true, the prose and development of characters is much less mature. The book is more of a homage (in a sense, she more satires it) to the gothic era, mixed into the comedy of manners style that she would be famous for later.

But I LOVE this book. Seriously, this bo...more

like 7 likes

· see review

Aug 07, 2011

Kathryn rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: re-reads, classics

Although Catherine Morland is not exactly Austen's most sparkling female protagonist, Henry Tilney, the hero of this novel, is witty enough for both of them. He's not often present, however, so the real entertainment value of the book resides in its clever parody of Gothic novels. Previous readings of this book left me a little dry but I must have been paying closer attention to the plot points and characterizations rather than the overall satirizing purpose of the book which Austen clearly de...more

like 3 likes

· see review

Oct 30, 2011

Kim rated it

· review of another edition

I'd forgotten just how funny Northanger Abbey really is. Listening to it on audiobook this time around gave me plenty of opportunities to laugh out loud and the reading by Juliet Stevenson was truly superb. It is a shame that Austen didn't get to revise Northanger Abbey before her death as she had intended to. It is without doubt a weaker novel than her masterpieces: the ending is rushed and the two distinct threads of the novel don't meld together that convincingly. However, it is splendidly fu...more

like 4 likes

· see review

May 11, 2008

Misty rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: classics, favorites, own, jane-in-june

Austen-ites tend to look down on this one as the lesser of the six, but this is one of my favorites because it is so fun and light. It's breezy, and this may sound weird, but I think it most shows what Jane would have been like as a friend.

like 4 likes

· see review

May 20, 2010

Joel rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: dailylit, 2010, 52-in-2010, classics

This is the first Jane Austen I've read. I picked it because it's short, it was available in email installments from dailylit.com, and I'd read a review here on goodreads that suggested it was basically a 19th-century cross between chick lit and Mean Girls.

I actually... really liked it. It's only very slightly boring, which is a huge compliment, considering I've often found reading anything written before, oh, 1900 to be an awful chore. And it's actually surprisingly funny. Not anyth...more

like 5 likes

· see review

Dec 31, 2009

Michael rated it

· review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Though all of Jane Austen's books are unique in their own right, "Northanger Abbey" stands out from the rest as being the closest Austen gets to outright comedy. It is famous for being a parody of the overwrought gothic romances that were popular in her day (the imagination boggles at what she might have achieved had the Twilight series been available to her), but Ms. Austen is not content with mere parody. In a brilliant twist, the parody becomes the thing that is parodied. With a ...moreThough all of Jane Austen's books are unique in their own right, "Northanger Abbey" stands out from the rest as being the closest Austen gets to outright comedy. It is famous for being a parody of the overwrought gothic romances that were popular in her day (the imagination boggles at what she might have achieved had the Twilight series been available to her), but Ms. Austen is not content with mere parody. In a brilliant twist, the parody becomes the thing that is parodied. With a battle between the forces of good and evil and a young woman's soul at stake, "Northanger Abby" IS a gothic romance, but it has been stripped of the gloomy trappings and ridiculously evil villains. In its place is the banal, subtle, everyday type of evil which is all the more terrible and dangerous for its ordinary quality. This may not sound like much of a comedy, but Ms. Austen deftly alternates between the seriousness of her subject and the satire. The results are often hilarious and had me laughing out loud.

"Northanger Abbey" tells the story of Catherine Morland, a young lady on the verge of adulthood who is obsessed with gothic romances. When we meet her, Catherine is about to embark on a journey to Bath with a wealthy friend of the family. Naive, impressionable, and aching to live out the adventures she reads, Catherine is the daughter of a churchman with a comfortable income and a large, loving family. At 17, this is her first excursion from her home and first introduction to society. In Bath, she attends balls, the theatre, the baths, and meets a number of people, including Isabella Thorpe, her brother John, and the Tilney family; Henry, Eleanor, Captain Frederick Tilney, and their father, the General. Among them, competing interests and designs for Catherine are played out and she, on her own for the first time in her life, must learn who to trust.

Isabella and Catherine quickly strike up a friendship based mostly on their mutual love of gothic novels, while John tries to impress her with what he considers to be gentlemanly airs. These two, in a manner reminiscent of the Crawfords of Mansfield Park, conspire to win Catherine for John. Though not as malicious as the Crawfords, John and Isabelle are nevertheless manipulative as they try to seal the match. Initially, Catherine is protected by her naivete, being completely clueless about the game they are playing. Slowly, though, she begins to realize that the Thorpes are not all she took them for. As always in an Austen book, manners reveal the underlying character of a person, and the manners of John and Isabelle betray a shallowness and selfishness that true nobility would eschew. As Catherine learns who the Thorpes are, she takes the first of several important steps toward growing up and seeing the world for what it really is.

She begins to spend more time with the Tilneys, particularly Henry and Eleanor. Well mannered, honest and reserved, yet somehow still playful, the Tilneys genuinely are what the Thorpes pretend to be. As their relationship deepens, Catherine is invited to spend time at their estate, Northanger Abbey. She accepts and accompanies them, a move which is seen as a rejection of the Thorpes. John takes the move personally and reacts vengefully by lying to General Tilney about Catherine. This lie will threaten a budding romance between Henry and Catherine, who are both unaware of his machinations.

The Tilneys, with Catherine, return to Northanger, and here the parody goes into overdrive. Dark and foreboding at night with locked rooms, mysterious passages, and cryptic messages, Northanger Abbey is everything Catherine's overstimulated imagination could ask. She sees mystery and potential evil in every cupboard and sheet covered cabinet. Her fears and suspicions are aroused and heightened much to her delight. Here is the adventure she has longed for since she began reading the likes of "The Mystery of Udolpho".

In the light of day, however, the cupboards and cabinets are empty, the mysterious passages lead to ordinary places, and the cryptic letters turn out to be laundry lists. As she discovered with the Thorpes, Northanger Abbey is not all it appears. She is strangely disappointed, but this discovery is another step in her growth from a child to an adult. It is not the last, and the disappointment does not yet put an end to her overactive imagination, for there is another mystery lurking in the halls of Northanger, a real mystery regarding the death of Henry and Eleanor's mother.

As Catherine investigates Mrs. Tilney's death, she discovers that there is real evil in the world, but it is unlike anything she has read, and it is even found in her own imagination. The lies of John Thorpe will haunt her, and she will face shame, humiliation, and real danger at the hands of the General. But with the aid of the true friends she found in Eleanor and Henry Tilney, Catherine will finally put aside the childish thrills of the gothic romances of her youth and be prepared to take her place in the real world as a real woman.

"Northanger Abbey" was a delightful read for many reasons. Catherine Morland may be one of the sweetest characters that Ms. Austen created. She is kind, loving, trusting, and completely without guile. Her chief flaws are that she is too impressionable and given to flights of fancy, both of which tend to lead her astray. She has all the makings of a fine woman, and the reader is pleased to watch as her potential is realized.

In the Tilneys and the Thorpes, Ms. Austen found perfect vehicles to illustrate the forces competing for the soul of Catherine. The Thorpes are superficially fascinating and attractive, but their beauty ends there. Henry, with his sweet but sensible sister Eleanor, provide Catherine with the example she needs of what it means to be a noble man and woman. Henry Tilney is a model gentleman without being an unrealistic ideal. He, too, has his flaws that he must overcome in order to take his proper place in the world.

I have remarked in other reviews on the beauty and excellence of Ms. Austen's writing, so I will not belabor the point here, except to say she does not disappoint in the least. Any fan of Jane Austen will be thoroughly satisfied with "Northanger Abbey". Any newcomer will be enchanted. Just remember that her books are as unique as the characters themselves. Though they share many common themes, no two Austen novels are alike. That is part of why I enjoy them so much.(less)

like 4 likes

· see review

Mar 27, 2008

Summer Owens rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: everyone

Shelves: all-time-favorites

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This review has been cross posted at http://summerreviews.blogspot.com

After reading Pride and Prejudice, Emma, and Sense and Sensibility time and again over the years, I thought I should finally delve into the other novels of Jane Austen.

Northanger Abbey was one of Jane Austen's earlier novels, having been written around 1798. It was ready for publication in the year 1803, but the publisher it was sold to, never published it. Austen was able to repurchase the manuscript i...moreThis review has been cross posted at http://summerreviews.blogspot.com

After reading Pride and Prejudice, Emma, and Sense and Sensibility time and again over the years, I thought I should finally delve into the other novels of Jane Austen.

Northanger Abbey was one of Jane Austen's earlier novels, having been written around 1798. It was ready for publication in the year 1803, but the publisher it was sold to, never published it. Austen was able to repurchase the manuscript in 1816 but it was not published until after her death in 1818.

I began this book without any prior knowledge of it's characters or plot. By the fourth chapter I found myself thoroughly interested in the life of Catherine Morland. Her innocent and cheerful manner seemed actually contagious. Many of the worries and drama she faced, though so obviously unimportant and silly, had me anxious for a speedy resolution. Of course credit for this must be given to the writer, for I am still more than a little surprised at how well I like Catherine Morland.

She has not the depth of feeling or character that some of Jane's other heroine's have and yet it is precisely this naivete that endears her character to me. There is much of Catherine Morland that I would like to be myself.
To be a cheerful and innocent minded woman, yet able to speak up for herself when the situation truly demanded it (Catherine's prior engagment with Miss Tilney) was admirable indeed. I was very afraid of her allowing her so called friends to push her around and was in agony in the first instance when John refused to stop the carriage after he had lied to her about Mr. and Miss Tilney driving off.
But where others could not physically prevent her from doing that which she knew to be right, she stood firm.

As to her imaginings about the General, I have myself imagined even grander schemes at times. Though I may not have been so quick to admit such a scheme to Mr. Tilney in her situation, once done I would have reacted the same way. There are many times I realize how silly my thoughts or actions have been through the perspective of another and I'm glad her mortification did not get in the way of her being sincerely sorry.

In this book Catherine ends a much more knowledgeable woman than when she was first introduced to us. Her perspective on human motivations has broadened considerably in a rather unfavorable manner, yet she seems the same generally cheerful Catherine she was at the start. Certainly she is sad and cries at times over supposed losses of acquaintance and affection but she is quick in recovery and continuation of life. And to retain cheer and hope in the face of affliction is something we should all strive towards.(less)

like 3 likes

· see review

Jan 02, 2008

Holly Goguen rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: literature

I'm not even done and I'm already in love with this book. I can't believe Jane wrote this so young. I was quite surprised to find so much truth still to be found in a comparison of personality types between her age and ours. While we do not share the strict social guidelines governing all interactions, we still have the same lessons to be learned in friendships and relationships as the heroine found herself schooled in. Witty, charming, her emotions and social situations leap off the page and en...more

like 4 likes

· see review

Feb 26, 2011

LeAnn rated it

· review of another edition

I really enjoyed Austen's Northanger Abbey, perhaps partly due to the fact that I'd mistakenly thought it must be less good than her other novels, all of which I've read. Certainly there aren't a-thousand-and-one sequels, prequels, adaptations, and movies of it, are there?

However, I think I understand. Northanger Abbey is less a romance than a satire of Gothic romance. It's witty authorial commentary on the progression of the story and the action of the characters made me laugh out l...moreI really enjoyed Austen's Northanger Abbey, perhaps partly due to the fact that I'd mistakenly thought it must be less good than her other novels, all of which I've read. Certainly there aren't a-thousand-and-one sequels, prequels, adaptations, and movies of it, are there?

However, I think I understand. Northanger Abbey is less a romance than a satire of Gothic romance. It's witty authorial commentary on the progression of the story and the action of the characters made me laugh out loud, but I rather suspect that a reader hoping to become immersed in an unfolding love story would find these bits of commentary distracting.

I'm less certain about Austen's intents regarding the enjoyment of popular novels. Clearly, the hero, Henry, mocks and abuses them, yet he's familiar with them enough to understand their conventions and attractions. In addition, while he points out their negative influence on Catherine, the heroine, who suspects his father of murdering his mother, he doesn't appear to judge her for her folly (although the implication is that she needs to grow up and not mistake a good yarn for real life). Finally, there are the brother-and-sister duo who nearly wreck Catherine and her brother James's chances for happiness through their conniving, selfish actions. One makes a list of books she clearly cares little about reading and the other admits to never reading at all.

As for Henry, I loved him. He reminds me a bit of Mr. Knightley, who points the error of her ways out to Emma, also subject to an overactive imagination concerning the people around her. But Henry has a sharper tongue--he's sarcastic and ironic, yet in a good way. That is, it seems to be his response to the shallow, self-serving, materialistic society he finds in Bath. As with Mr. Knightley's love of Emma, Henry values Catherine for her warm, open temperament and ability to recognize and feel remorse for mistreating others, if only in thought. He also doesn't hesitate to act upon his convictions and stands up to his intimidating father on Catherine's behalf, just as Mr. Knightley says that all right-thinking men should do when commenting on the behavior of Frank Churchill.

Interestingly, Henry is a minister. A woman in the Austen book club of which I'm a member goes out of her way to claim that Austen's general views on churchmen are negative (she also thinks Austen's books are populated with deficient or non-existent parents, but I suspect she hasn't read any YA literature in decades, if ever). Henry offers the strongest evidence yet that this Austen reader is mistaken. Austen's father was a parish priest. Given how supportive he appears to have been of her (he allowed her open access to his library, encouraged her in her writing, and even submitted one of her novels to a publisher on her behalf), and that three of her heroes (besides Henry, there is Edmund in Mansfield Park and Edward Ferrars in Sense and Sensibility) all obtain a "living" as Anglican priests, I doubt very much that Austen intends to make a statement about churchmen in general. It seems more reasonable to me that Austen poked fun at individuals of all sorts who are vain, shallow, not self-aware, greedy, selfish and self-aggrandizing, moralizing, and snobby. She has as many worthless young people as parents and priests. In fact, if I draw any conclusions from her stories, it is that the majority of society deserves the brunt of her mockery and that fortitude and a great deal of luck only allowed the worthy few to find happiness.
(less)

like 3 likes

· see review

Apr 01, 2009

Ayu Palar rated it

· review of another edition

Recommended to Ayu by: Sherien

Shelves: classics, austen

I so feel connected with Catherine since people often say I am over-imaginative, like the heroine in Northanger Abbey. I personally think the mystery element makes the novel more interesting. Northanger Abbey as the setting also gives some Gothic element to the novel. Not really into Gothic stuffs, but sometimes it is needed to add the thrill. However, I would say the plot is kinda flat. I could not find the rising action and how the conflict ends. I don’t even comprehend what the conflict reall...more

like 2 likes

· see review

Aug 07, 2011

Simona Bartolotta rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: classici

La persona, uomo o donna che sia, che non si diverte a leggere un buon romanzo, dev'essere intollerabilmente stupida.

Come hanno detto in molti, non sarà una Elizabeth Bennet, non sarà una Emma Woodhouse, ma ho amato fino in fondo la piccola, fantasiosa, ingenua Catherine Morland.
Ah, la Austen non si smentisce mai!

like 2 likes

· see review

Mar 21, 2011

Liza rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 2011

I really enjoyed this novel; of course, I did. It is a Jane Austen novel, after all. I have heard this novel called a "gothic" novel, but I actually think it is a great deal more than that. In many places it seems to be a parody of a gothic novel, a self-conscious, tongue-in-cheek take on the gothic novel genre. I would call this novel self-conscious because Austen's narrator, in many cases, seems to have a direct awareness of her audience, and she directly opens a dialogue with her re...more

like 1 like

· see review

Mar 20, 2010

Cheryl rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own, historical-romance

This is the second book our Jane Austen Book Club decided to read. Our first was Emma. I enjoyed this one so much more than Emma! It was easier to read, the sentences made sense, and I only skimmed over maybe 3 pages. I sat down with the intention of only reading a chapter or two at about 4pm but couldn't put the book down until I finished it at about 10:30pm!!! I had to know how it ended and it just flowed so nicely that I continued to read it all the way through.

Catherine is ...more

like 3 likes

· see review

Apr 02, 2008

Jo rated it

· review of another edition

I was very disappointed in this book. I found the characters boring and cliche. I understand that Austen's brother had this book published after her death. I can understand why she never had it published.

like 5 likes

· see review

Dec 14, 2010

Amanda rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: classics, romance, 2010

“No one who had ever seen Catherine Morland in her infancy would have supposed her born to be a heroine.” So goes the first line of Austen’s semi-satire of the old Gothic novel tradition. We follow Catherine as she goes off on her first “adventure” and manages to muddle a lot of her life by trying to relate too much to Udolpho and other Gothic novels. And of course, we also follow her as she falls in love.

Remember back in the spring, when I said I thought five chances were enough for J...more“No one who had ever seen Catherine Morland in her infancy would have supposed her born to be a heroine.” So goes the first line of Austen’s semi-satire of the old Gothic novel tradition. We follow Catherine as she goes off on her first “adventure” and manages to muddle a lot of her life by trying to relate too much to Udolpho and other Gothic novels. And of course, we also follow her as she falls in love.

Remember back in the spring, when I said I thought five chances were enough for Jane Austen and that I was giving up this book only a few chapters in? Well, I think I was suffering from major Austen burnout. For those of you who love Austen with a passion, you probably won’t understand this, but if I am exposed to her too often, I find her repetitive, monotonous, dry, and boring. When I first started reading her, I set out to read one novel per year, which felt like a sensible plan for me. There are several authors that I tend to read only on a yearly basis because too much exposure to them affects me in one way or another. Austen is one of them, but with joining a Jane Austen Book Club, I ended up reading a lot of her novels (plus modern sequels) very quickly, far quicker than I would have on my own. I think I just needed more space before I attempted Northanger Abbey.

I’ve long suspected this would be the Austen novel I’d like best. It’s different from the others, and I like the humor in it. I decided to give it a second chance right now solely because my Jane Austen Book Club is reading The Jane Austen Book Club for our January selection. I read that book back in 2008, when I’d only read one Austen book (Persuasion) and seen two movies (S&S, P&P). I knew I wanted to reread it after reading all six books. Hence, my giving NA another chance.

I’m glad I did, because this time around, I had great fun with the novel. It didn’t feel boring or dry at all to me, which proves to me that I was suffering from burnout! It probably ties with Pride & Prejudice as being my top favorite Austen novels. I loved all the pokes at Gothic novels, especially after having read some of them. My particular favorite is when John Thorpe starts talking about how novels like The Monk were the only kind he would read because they had substance in them. Ha! The Thorpes were amusing in general, and completely obnoxious, but I like that Austen downplayed the repetitive-joke humor that exists in most of her novels. I never felt like the jokes were repeated too often here.

Over all, it was a very fun experience, and I’m glad to have now made my way through the six Austen novels!(less)

like 1 like

· see review

Jun 17, 2011

Suna rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Austenados, Quirky girls after redemption, Social Satire lovers, Regency lit readers

Shelves: classics, jane-austen

I had Emma-Issues with this book: Catherine Morland was so phenomenally daft that it sometimes overwhelmed everything else in a wave of toe-curling exasperation.

So sorry, book. It's not you. It's me. I get too emotional about characters.

Which means that, once again, Austen has utterly blown my mind with her writing: To craft fictional people that well, that wittily, that sharply, that relentlessly. Ai. My cringing heart.

Because at the heart of the matter l...more

like 3 likes

· see review

Oct 20, 2010

Abigail rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Jane Austen Fans / 19th-Century Novel Readers

Shelves: literature-classics

Although published posthumously, together with Persuasion, Northanger Abbey was actually the first novel that Jane Austen completed, and has always struck me as being the least mature of her major works. It is the story of young Catherine Morland, an impressionable seventeen-year-old girl with a taste for gothic romance novels, whose exciting trip to Bath with family friends introduces her to two very different sets of people - the Thorpes and the Tilneys. The gradual process whereby Catherine ...more

like 6 likes

· see review

Jan 23, 2008

KT rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Austen disparagers, girls who only read Pride and Prejudice once Colin Firth entered the picture

My least favorite Austen book, Northanger Abbey's greatest weakness isn't a lack of deftness by the author but Austen's success at rendering a flawed protagonist. Our "heroine" is Catherine Morland, a painfully naïve teenager making her first long trip away from home. She's a bit dim, our Catherine, and so eager for "attachment" that she is easily swayed by the character of her companions.
In the first half of the novel, Austen is rather brutal in conveying Catherine's ...moreMy least favorite Austen book, Northanger Abbey's greatest weakness isn't a lack of deftness by the author but Austen's success at rendering a flawed protagonist. Our "heroine" is Catherine Morland, a painfully naïve teenager making her first long trip away from home. She's a bit dim, our Catherine, and so eager for "attachment" that she is easily swayed by the character of her companions.
In the first half of the novel, Austen is rather brutal in conveying Catherine's flaws via a distinctive series of parenthetical asides and wry juxtapositions with more shrewd characters. In comparison with her more famous works, Northanger Abbey is very nearly a straight satire. While Austen has always included a rebuke of societal trends and values she found abhorrent (see the vapid vanity of the father and sister in Persuasion), her protagonists are usually incredibly compelling and likeable despite their flaws.
Austen departs from that formula here in order to more deliciously attack the superficiality and scheming inherent in that era's society. The reader is much more likely to sympathize with Catherine's love interest in Northanger Abbey, a sarcastic yet kind Henry Tilney. But Henry remains a distant and somewhat vague personality throughout the book, and we are chained to Catherine's feelings and thoughts, regardless of our opinions or preferences.
The most enjoyable sections of the novel, for me, were when Austen let loose in depicting Catherine's new companions as terrible and annoying in contrast to Catherine's good opinion of them. I also found the clear undercurrent of Austen's frustration fascinating. As a woman, there was a clear delineation between what kinds of novels she could produce and what was considered more serious efforts by the men in her profession.
The second half of the book, and descent into commentary on Gothic literature, is where I grew disinterested. This seems to be an unpopular opinion. Though some of my former English teachers might be terribly disappointed in me, I had to slog through much of the Abbey descriptions and finished the book by momentum rather than curiosity.

However, I do think the book is worth reading as a contrast to her other works. I recommend Northanger Abbey to those who dismiss her work as Chick Lit, and even more forcefully to those fans that recognize only the romance and dreaminess of Mr. Darcy.

(less)

like 3 likes

· see review

Jan 19, 2008

Leanna rated it

· review of another edition

In preparation for the latest film adaptation of Northanger Abbey (Sunday on PBS), I reread the book.

I haven’t read Northanger Abbey for several years. With the passage of time, my mind had warped its content. In my memory, the book consists mainly of Catherine Morland’s fantastical daydreams, which are induced by an overdose of gothic novels. My most vivid memory is of Catherine as the Tilneys’ houseguest. Somehow, she deduces General Tilney murdered his wife.

Now that I’...more

like 1 like

· see review

Jan 06, 2008

Alison rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Austen fans, fans of Gothic literature, romantics

Shelves: rgbookclub

Northanger Abbey is less serious than most of Austen's novels, and more tongue-in-cheek. Austen takes on Gothic literature, novels, society, and human nature. She really knew people--their ridiculousness, their tendency to over-imagine circumstances, their misguided priorities and self-serving natures. But this is a light read...funny and good-natured.

Naive Catherine Moreland has an over-active imagination. While visiting Bath, she mingles with society for the first time. She fa...more

like 2 likes

· see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 2573 2574 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Jane Austen: Just Some Advice!	12	29	Jan 27, 2012 07:37am
100+ Books in 2012: Anita L A 100+ in 2012	1	6	Jan 01, 2012 12:34pm

combine
Other Editions (388)

More editions...

Genres

Classics

2,914 users

Romance

512 users

Literature

221 users

European Literature > British Literature

117 users

Gothic

130 users

Literature > 19th Century

104 users

Historical Fiction

120 users

Classics > Classic Literature

74 users

Novels

71 users

Regency

64 users

See top shelves...

Readers Also Enjoyed

Agnes Grey
by Anne Brontë
Shirley
by Charlotte Brontë
Cranford
by Elizabeth Gaskell
The Mysteries of Udolpho
by Ann Radcliffe
Little Dorrit
by Charles Dickens

About Jane Austen

Jane Austen (16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) 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 cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.

Austen lived her entire life as part of a close-knit family located on...more

More about Jane Austen...

Books by Jane Austen

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Pin It

Trivia About Northanger Abbey

70 trivia questions
4 quizzes

More quizzes & trivia...

Quotes from Northanger Abbey

“The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.” — 15,905 people liked it

“There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature.” — 6,444 people liked it

More quotes…

Groups That Shelved Northanger Abbey

Stavanger Book Club

11 members

last activity Feb 08, 2012 03:06pm

shelf: currently-reading

Boxall's 1001 Books You ...

10997 members

last activity 33 minutes ago

shelf: read

The Rory Gilmore Book Club

3898 members

last activity 7 hours, 19 min ago

shelf: read

title link	preview: Northanger Abbey
avg rating	preview: Northanger Abbey Goodreads rating: 3.69 (52046 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1128946.Northanger_Abbey?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320459245m/1128946.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1128946.Northanger_Abbey?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen[/url]

Northanger Abbey (Everyman's Library)

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Readers Also Enjoyed

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website