Northanger Abbey

Jane AustenApr 2015

3.8

Word count: 91K words
Chapters: 34

Summary

Portraying social life in fashionable Bath and centred around Catherine Morland, this novel ridicules the popular tales of romance and terror and contrasts with these the normal realities of life.

Editor's review

Often seen as Austen's playful response to the Gothic novel, Northanger Abbey follows young Catherine Morland as she enters Bath society armed with fearsome imaginings from her reading and mistakes the abbey for a stage of intrigue, until she grows up through real relationships and self-reflection. Its pleasure lies in a double thread: on one side a parody of Radcliffean gloomy castles and mysterious manuscripts, on the other the petty logic of respectable life recreated through balls, calls, and courtship. Austen's irony is never cruel; she lets the reader's excitement and Catherine's naivety be gently exposed together. Its treatment of how reading shapes judgment and how imagination oversteps its bounds still resonates today. Best entered after one or two Gothic novels, when the parody's wit comes through; it also works as an introduction to Austen, light in length and bright in tone, suited to travel or bedtime reading in installments.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who like Jane Austen and want a light introduction to her work
Readers interested in Gothic parody and themes of female growth
Readers drawn to English gentry society, courtship observation, and irony
Students who want to think about the boundary between imagination and reality while reading lightheartedly

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting tension, suspense, or genuinely frightening stories
Readers who dislike slow social detail and everyday dialogue
Readers who prefer strong plotting and rapid conflict

Reading tips

Learn the conventions of Gothic novels such as The Mysteries of Udolpho first; the parody lands better with that background
Notice how Catherine's reading-fed imagination shapes her judgment of Henry's family
Read the Bath ballrooms and Northanger Abbey sections against each other and watch reality return
Read two or three chapters a day and after each, recall where Austen planted her irony

Copyright information
ADVERTISEMENT BY THE AUTHORESS, TO NORTHANGER ABBEY
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
CHAPTER 28
CHAPTER 29
CHAPTER 30
CHAPTER 31
A NOTE ON THE TEXT

FAQ

Can I understand Northanger Abbey without having read any Gothic novels?

Yes. The main line is still a young woman's coming-of-age story as she enters society and learns to judge people; the Gothic parody mainly adds flavor, and missing it costs only a layer of intertextual pleasure, not your grasp of the relationships or the satirical intent.

Why is Catherine's imagination both ridiculous and endearing?

She is ridiculous for taking book formulas as reality and misreading an ordinary house as a scene of intrigue; she is endearing because she is sincere and unworldly, and her errors come from innocence rather than malice. Austen lets readers laugh at her while recalling times they too were led astray by stories.

What makes this book special compared with Austen's other works?

It discusses novel reading itself more directly, with the twin aims of defending the novel and parodying the Gothic tradition, while keeping Austen's familiar topics of balls, courtship, and property. It is shorter, its irony more overt, and it is often seen as a light exercise before her style matured.

Is it suitable as a first Jane Austen book?

Yes. It is short, bright in tone, and easy to enter; but if you want her most typical courtship irony first, you could start with Pride and Prejudice and then return to this book, when her teasing of a popular genre will stand out more.

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About the author

Jane Austen Author · British · 1775–1817

Jane Austen (1775–1817) was a British novelist, born into the family of a clergyman in Steventon, Hampshire, and she remained unmarried throughout her life. She wrote six novels: Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Persuasion, and Northanger Abbey. With delicate irony she portrayed the marriages and daily life of the English gentry, and she is regarded as one of the most important writers in the history of the English novel. Her works are commonly classified under foreign literature, inspirational growth, and world classics, and they are widely read among Chinese readers; this library holds 88 editions of her works.