Wednesday, March 01, 2017

Bookish Thoughts: Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

No one who had ever seen Catherine Morland in her infancy, would have supposed her born to be an heroine. ~ Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen


Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Dover, 2000 (1817)
Fiction; 192 pgs

Northanger Abbey was such fun. It is on the lighter side with a sense of humor, a Gothic parody, if you will. I can see why so many Jane Austen readers favor this book. Full of misunderstandings and a few twists, it was easy to get caught up in the drama as it unfolded. The novel almost feels like two different novels, were it not for the characters, from the more formal and yet airy society life in the resort town of  Bath to the perceived darker, more Gothic tones of Northanger Abbey, a countryside estate that had once been a church.

A small town young woman, Catherine Morland, travels to Bath for the first time to stay with family friends and enjoy the society there. She befriends Isabella Thorpe and gains an admirer in her friend's brother. Catherine, however, has her eyes set on Henry Tilney, a rather handsome clergyman. Isabella admits to fancying Catherine's older brother, James. And so it goes from there. The first section of the novel takes place in Bath as Catherine makes her way in the society, spending time with her friends, untangling misunderstandings, and coming into her own. In the second section, our heroine is invited to Northanger Abbey, the Tilney's family estate, to spend time with her new friend, Henry's sister. Henry's father assumes Catherine comes from money and treats her quite well, despite his otherwise cold and demanding manner. Catherine cannot help but speculate on the death of his wife years before, however, especially as she discovers the untouched room of the late Lady Tilney.

Early in the novel, we discover Catherine is a reader of fiction with a particular love for Gothic romances, counting Ann Radcliffe among her favorite authors. She may take her reading a little too far, applying her reading to reality around her, jumping to conclusions and looking for secrets in all the dark corners, especially once at Northanger Abbey.

Catherine is a very likeable character, if very naive. She truly is a good person, but her trusting nature makes it easy for others to take advantage of her. While I couldn't help but shake my head at some of the situations Catherine found herself in, she is still such an endearing character. I enjoyed her conversations with Henry and his sister and cringed every time she had to spend time with John Thorpe, who is quite self-serving.

As a love story, Northanger Abbey highlights the practices of the time in courting, Austen making fun of them a bit. There is not much romance in this one, I felt. The ending to be a bit rushed in comparison to the rest of the novel, but it was satisfactory. I found Northanger Abbey to be both a charming and entertaining read. While perhaps not my favorite, I can see why this one is so well loved.

To learn more about author Jane Austen and her work, please visit the Jane Austen website.


© 2017, Wendy Runyon of Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

30 comments:

  1. Great review, Northanger Abbey's one of my favourites but I always think it's a bit rushed at the end too. I like all the bits in Bath best :) Have you seen the film with Felicity Jones? Definitely worth a watch if you liked the book :)

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    1. Catherine - The Bath part was fun. I haven't yet watched the film with Felicity Jones, but I really need to make time for it. Usually I'm quick to do so after finishing a book, but I completely forgot this time!

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  2. I should read the book. I didn't like the movie much, but that doesn't mean the book wouldn't be as fun as you describe it!

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    1. Jill - I do want to see the movie even if it proves not to be as good as the book (isn't that often the case though?). Northanger Abbey isn't my favorite Austen--it's probably my least favorite of the four Austen books I've read in fact--but I did enjoy it.

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  3. It isn't my favorite either, but with Jane, it is hard to go wrong. :)

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  4. I always have to adjust to the language when I read a classic like this so it takes me a little while to get into them.

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    1. Kathy - I find that to be true for me too. Although with this one, it didn't seem to take quite as long to settle in with it as it did with Persuasion (which I ended up loving).

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  5. Great commentary on this book.

    I am in the middle of Mansfield Park right now. After I finish Northanger Abbey will be the last major Jane Austen book that I have not read.

    It is interesting that, as you note, Catherine jumps to conclusions. This seems to be common with Austen's characters and relates to her themes.

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    1. Brian - Thank you! What do you think of Mansfield Park? I haven't gotten to that one yet. Sense and Sensibility is another one I need to read still.

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  6. I love Catherine Morland and Henry Tilney. Catherine may love her bookish fantasies, but she has a very grounded, practical side to her, too. And Austen's little digs at Gothic novels in this book always make me laugh. :)

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    1. Lark - Yes, she is a very practical woman. I loved the digs at the Gothic novels. :-) I enjoyed the conversations about books and reading in the novel, in general.

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  7. I have never read Jane Austen. I should be ashamed. Maybe I will give this one a try at some point. Glad you enjoyed it.

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    1. Carole - I don't think you should be ashamed, but I hope you will give her a try one of these days. :-)

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  8. I read this right after I graduated college when I was starting a new job and just in a huge amount of transition and I had a really hard time concentrating on it. At the time I thought it was that the book wasn't very good but I've been wanting to reread it because I have a feeling it was more me than the book. Great review! You've definitely encouraged me to give this another try.

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    1. Katherine - It's not her best, in my opinion, and some of what I read about the history of the book makes it sound like she made changes to the book years after first attempting to publish it. That may have played a part in it. I'll be interested to see what you think though if you do give it a re-read.

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  9. Northanger Abbey isn't one of my favourite Austen novels either, but it's such a fun read! I would definitely like to re-read it one day, after I've read a few of those famous gothic novels that were mentioned in the book.

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    1. Eustacia - It was a fun one! I wouldn't mind re-reading it again someday either. Although I should probably read her books that I haven't yet gotten to!

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  10. I don't think I've read this one, Wendy. I need to read more classic, especially books by Jane Austen. :)

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    1. Melody - I would like to read more classics too. Sometimes they seem to fall to the bottom on my TBR stack though when I'm choosing my next book. :-(

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  11. This is the least "Austen" of the books she wrote but still, like you say, so much fun!

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    1. Lisa - I am glad I finally got a chance to read it. :-)

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  12. What a wonderful review! It's been a long time since I read this book, but Jane Austen has never failed to delight me.

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  13. I like how Austen makes fun of her own books in this one. Plus Tilney is marvelous. My favourite (not that I've read many)

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    1. Elizabeth - Yes, I liked that about this one too. :-) I wish we'd gotten a little more Tilney than we did, but he is a a great character.

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  14. I hadn't realized this was a relatively short novel, one I have never read. I must remedy that soon. Right now I have have so many books I want to read but find myself wasting time playing Yahtzee and Scrabble obsessively on my phone…..sigh

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    1. Diane - The size did make it easy to decide to pick it up when I did. :-) I am guilty of playing phone games too often too instead of reading. I go through phases.

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  15. I have yet to read Northanger Abbey but I saw the movie version. Great post :)

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