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During an eventful season at Bath, young, naive 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.

I may have quite possibly found my favourite Jane Austen novel so far! This one is a super short read and I think would be perfect for those looking to read Austen for the first time – I also loved the audiobook so much that I may re-read Persuasion on audio soon (the only Austen book I have so far just read in physical format and not audio!).

I feel like this is one of Austen’s quirkier novels, and it is full of literary satire and Gothic scenes. And let me tell you, I adored these Gothic scenes. I love Victorian literature for the dark and spooky feelings that Northanger Abbey brings. The abbey itself was such a perfect location to set up the Gothic elements of this book, and I definitely feel like that was my favourite part of the story!

The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel,

I also feel like this one is the most accessible Austen book I’ve picked up so far, and I really enjoyed the plot, which was easy to follow yet entertaining. I really liked Catherine as a main character, who was young and naive but genuinely just so kind to all those who surround her. I really felt for her, which I think is one of the reasons why I liked this one so much – she just made me soften.

I also loved the setting of this book, from Bath to the abbey itself. Every time I read an Austen book, I want to visit Somerset/Bath. Having visited Bath, I feel like she manages to capture it so well between these pages, and I can vividly picture these characters frolicking around the English countryside.

must be intolerably stupid.

Something that I find all Austen books do well is pure wit, and this is probably the funniest and most absurd so far. I found it so entertaining, and I’m so glad I decided to read these on audio throughout autumn.

★★★★
4 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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