Northanger Abbey is, of course, partially Jane Austen’s spoof of Gothic novels, and her heroine, Catherine Morland, is definitely a fan of them. But before that story line kicks in, Catherine gets to visit Bath in the company of family friends, Mr. and Mrs. Allen.
Catherine is not a well-informed girl and tends to be naïve and to take people as they present themselves. The first few days at Bath go slowly, because the Allens don’t know anyone. Catherine, however, has a dance with Henry Tilney and is inclined to like him. Then Mrs. Allen meets an old school friend, Mrs. Thorpe, and Catherine immediately becomes bosom pals with Isabella Thorpe.
It seems that Catherine’s brother James is friends with Isabella’s brother John, and Isabella has set her sights on James. Despite the vaunted friendship, Isabella and John (who is obnoxious enough that even Catherine notices it) do a great deal to disrupt Catherine’s growing acquaintance with Henry Tilney and his sister Eleanor in favor of foursomes with them.
Finally, Catherine is invited to stay with Eleanor and delighted to learn the Tilneys own an old abbey. Unfortunately, Catherine lets her taste for Gothic literature carry her away.
Catherine is one of Austen’s most serious heroines, trying to navigate society and do what is right but fallen in with people whose intentions aren’t as honorable. But she is adorable, and her naïve reactions are amusing. Henry is genuinely witty and just the man to teach her to examine her assumptions a little more thoroughly. All in all, this is one of the lightest and most fun of Austen’s works.
What? Me Read? 
I love this one – it’s so much fun! Catherine, Henry and Eleanor are all good characters, but it’s Isabella and John that steal the show – they are so awful! I’m thinking of adding the Horrid Novels to my next CC list – every time I read Northanger Abbey I swear I’ll read them, so it seems like it’s time…
I read the Horrid Novels some time ago. I have to admit that some of them were pretty turgid, and I gave up on the one that is supposed to be best—and also longest—because it took so long for anything much to happen.
Oh! Maybe I won’t then! Thanks for the heads-up! I do want to include some of the sensation novels though, although they often seem to be far too long for their fairly simple storylines.
Oh, I don’t know. You might try them. I get the sense that you have a lot bigger threshold for the old Gothic stuff. I read all of them, but I didn’t finish The Mysteries of Udolpho despite almost being done, because there was a lot of foreshadowing going on (and the heroine had been kidnapped), but no mysteries had been revealed, and I only had about 100 pages to go! You might do better than I did.
Ha, I’ll think about it – and check the lengths of them all!
Thankfully, I believe all of them were a lot shorter than that one.
That’s good to know!
Of all her books, this one is the funniest. I couldn’t help but enjoy it very much.
Yes, I think so, or funny in a different way than some that have wittier characters.
I love this too and read it just after The Mysteries of Udolpho which made it even more fun for all the gothic sensation! I’m sorry you didn’t get on with the aforementioned Udolpho, I thought it was great right up to the end!
Once she was in the castle, it seemed like nothing happened for ages except foreshadowing. I might have more patience with it now, but I don’t know. Maybe I’ll try something else by Radcliffe.
After Emma, this was a genuine delight. As you say a light touch, but with so much heart and quite a bit of humour for good measure.
I liked Emma, but I can see why she would be really annoying to people.
I’ve liked her in previous reads, but I couldn’t work out what went wrong this time ???
I found her much more annoying than before, but I still liked the book.