Northanger Abbey
“Oh! I am delighted with the book! I should like to spend my whole life in reading it.” – Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey.
What springs to mind when someone says “Jane Austen”? Pride and Prejudice? Colin Firth as Mr Darcy walking through a field in a wet shirt? Don’t get me wrong, those are some great images. Pride and Prejudice is a great book, but its massive fame has had the sad effect of blocking out some of the other novels that Austen penned. Northanger Abbey is one of those books.
I’ll be honest, I watched the TV show before I read the book. *gasps.*
It’s a crime, I know. But sometimes, when the adaptation of the original work is very watchable and enjoyable, it can inspire you to read the book. So I bought a copy of the book online and read it via my phone. But because I’m a traditionalist, I just had to have a hard copy.
This focuses on the life of one Catherine Morland, a young woman with a penchant for daydreaming and reading gothic romance novels. She is one of ten children and described as “plain”. So not your typical Elizabeth Bennet – style witty beauty.
The young woman finds herself on a trip to Bath with her rich neighbours. There, she meets handsome Henry Tilney, is reunited with her older brother and his new sweetheart, the flighty Isabella, and is introduced to Mr Tilney’s kind sister and foreboding older brother and father.
Then, before you know it, our unlikely heroine travels back with Henry and his sister to their spooky place of residence, Northanger Abbey. There she takes it upon herself to investigate the mysterious death of Henry’s mother, failing to realise that her life is not a gothic novel.
Its a different read to the rest of Jane Austen’s novels, as there is very little focus on how the issue of class impacts upon the blossoming romance of the two characters.
Indeed, the romance between Cathy and Henry is used as more of a backdrop to Cathy’s own growing up and maturing from a naïve girl from the countryside.
But don’t let that put you off, this book is a very good read and definitely one to add to your bookshelf.