Northanger Abbey
Austen's witty exploration of the perils of mistaking fiction for reality
During an eventful season at Bath, young, naïve Catherine Morland experiences the joys of fashionable society for the first time. She is delighted with her new acquaintances: flirtatious Isabella, who shares Catherine's love of Gothic romance and horror, and sophisticated Henry and Eleanor Tilney, who invite her to their father's mysterious house, Northanger Abbey. There, her imagination influenced by novels of sensation and intrigue, Catherine imagines terrible crimes committed by General Tilney. With its broad comedy and irrepressible heroine, this is the most youthful and and optimistic of Jane Austen's works. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.BUY THE BOOK
Community Reviews
This was my first time reading Northanger Abbey, and I loved it! Maybe it surprised me, or maybe it was its novelty, but I finished it feeling like I enjoyed it more than most of Austen’s other books. Our heroine, Catherine, is a young girl obsessed with gothic novels, still full of wonder, innocence, and just the right amount of delusion, in a very enthusiastic kid-detective sort of way. She travels to Bath as the companion of her wealthy neighbors, the Allens, where she meets the Tilney siblings and is eventually invited to their home, Northanger Abbey. Catherine sees the world through book-colored glasses, so naturally, an old Abbey sends her imagination into overdrive. The rest, you’ll have to read and discover for yourself.
This book feels like Austen’s honest appreciation of book readers, a bit of teasing, and a complete understanding of them. It’s witty, satirical, and affectionate toward people who get a little too emotionally invested in books and their own imaginations.
Every time I read this I forget how funny JA can be. Her sense of humor and wit in NA is unlike anything else I’ve read. And Henry Tilney is one of my favorite JA heroes.
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