Northanger Abbey (Modern Library Classics) 
asked by ronmiller on November 27, 2006 10:55 AM
Though Northanger Abbey is one of Jane Austen's earliest novels, it was not published until after her death--well after she'd established her reputation with works such as Pride and Prejudice, Emma, and Sense and Sensibility. Of all her novels, this one is the most explicitly literary in that it is primarily concerned with books and with readers. In it, Austen skewers the novelistic excesses of her day made popular in such 18th-century Gothic potboilers as Ann Radcliffe's The Mysteries of Udolpho. Decrepit castles, locked rooms, mysterious chests, cryptic notes, and tyrannical fathers all figure into Northanger Abbey, but with a decidedly satirical twist. Consider Austen's introduction of her heroine: we are told on the very first page that "no one who had ever seen Catherine Morland in her infancy, would have supposed her born to be an heroine." The author goes on to explain that Miss Morland's father is a clergyman with "a considerable independence, besides two good livings--and he was not in the least addicted to locking up his daughters." Furthermore, her mother does not die giving birth to her, and Catherine herself, far from engaging in "the more heroic enjoyments of infancy, nursing a dormouse, feeding a canary-bird, or watering a rose-bush" vastly prefers playing cricket with her brothers to any girlish pastimes.
Catherine grows up to be a passably pretty girl and is invited to spend a few weeks in Bath with a family friend. While there she meets Henry Tilney and his sister Eleanor, who invite her to visit their family estate, Northanger Abbey. Once there, Austen amuses herself and us as Catherine, a great reader of Gothic romances, allows her imagination to run wild, finding dreadful portents in the most wonderfully prosaic events. But Austen is after something more than mere parody; she uses her rapier wit to mock not only the essential silliness of "horrid" novels, but to expose the even more horrid workings of polite society, for nothing Catherine imagines could possibly rival the hypocrisy she experiences at the hands of her supposed friends. In many respects Northanger Abbey is the most lighthearted of Jane Austen's novels, yet at its core is a serious, unsentimental commentary on love and marriage, 19th-century British style. --Alix Wilber
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This early Jane Austen novel is a satire among other things of the reading tastes of the Romantic Period's young, sending up their near addiction to improbable Gothic "horror" stories. Despite being grounded in such literary particulars, the novel remains an awfully good read. Contemporary college students in my experience think overwhelmingly that Austen is not just writing about Mrs. Radcliffe et al, but has much to tell them about life and taking one another seriously rather than playing at "relationships." Detailing the entrance of her naive, countryside heroine (Catherine) into the splendors and miseries of adulthood, Austen is here fully brimming over with her unmistakable satiric wit, charm, and astonishing worldly wisdom. Catherine, for instance, from the outset has already confounded life and art, so she is disappointed, to our delight, that on her first journey to Bath and grown-up experience, there's "not one lucky overturn of the carriage to introduce her to the hero." Austen's women -whether naive (Catherine) or vain and coquettish ( fashion-hungry Mrs. Allen and men-with-money-hungry Isabella Thorpe)- are all well drawn, and equally so are her men, especially the boorish John Thorpe, an early example of the "it's all about me" guy, and the triumphantly witty, hard-headed, yet kind Henry Tilney. Astonishingly, Austen concluded very early as a novelist that it's only the few genuine individuals in life who follow a civilized code of manners, whereas most other people are in fact mere conformists devoted to the fashionable ways of the world, pursuing vulgar self-interest or greed, while thinking themselves smart for doing so.
A few years back, adaptations of Austen for the screen were all the rage. "Northanger Abbey" had earlier been the subject of an inferior TV adaptation, set in the proper time period but too heavy on the Gothic "horror" element and largely witless. So far as I know it has never been made into a film. Given the continuing fondness of the young for horror novels (Stephen King's, say) and now scary movies, I'd argue "Northanger Abbey" is a natural for an updated version (like "Clueless" was of "Emma") set perhaps among the young who leave home for the first time to attend college. They too might initially expect life to resemble to some degree what they've encountered in their romances, "horror" novels and slasher films, only to be wittily disabused, but then to discover in fact the real ways life always and everywhere is actually "horrid," that is, owing to the timeless prevalence of vanity, self-absorption, and greed.
A few years back, adaptations of Austen for the screen were all the rage. "Northanger Abbey" had earlier been the subject of an inferior TV adaptation, set in the proper time period but too heavy on the Gothic "horror" element and largely witless. So far as I know it has never been made into a film. Given the continuing fondness of the young for horror novels (Stephen King's, say) and now scary movies, I'd argue "Northanger Abbey" is a natural for an updated version (like "Clueless" was of "Emma") set perhaps among the young who leave home for the first time to attend college. They too might initially expect life to resemble to some degree what they've encountered in their romances, "horror" novels and slasher films, only to be wittily disabused, but then to discover in fact the real ways life always and everywhere is actually "horrid," that is, owing to the timeless prevalence of vanity, self-absorption, and greed.
reviewed by tubi on November 28, 2006 1:35 PM
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The satire isn't as harsh, and the humor isn't as brilliant as you will find in Austen's major works, but don't let that stop you from enjoying this little book.
It's a charming and funny short novel that spoofs gothic fiction and romantic sentiment in a way that is surprisingly modern. Although the novel is full of subtle references to Jane Austen's favorite (and least favorite) books, you don't need to know anything about them to enjoy the story. Think of it as a teen comedy with moments of slapstick, lots of offbeat humor, and social embarassment galore, and you will be right in the spirit of Northanger Abbey. Some of the customs and vocabulary in the book are out of date, of course. But most of it will be easy to understand even without footnotes, (although it's nice to have them handy if you need them). Austen's wonderful talent for dialogue still makes this little novel a treat to read. I have re-read Northanger Abbey every year since I was a teenager myself, and I still smile all the way through it!
It's a charming and funny short novel that spoofs gothic fiction and romantic sentiment in a way that is surprisingly modern. Although the novel is full of subtle references to Jane Austen's favorite (and least favorite) books, you don't need to know anything about them to enjoy the story. Think of it as a teen comedy with moments of slapstick, lots of offbeat humor, and social embarassment galore, and you will be right in the spirit of Northanger Abbey. Some of the customs and vocabulary in the book are out of date, of course. But most of it will be easy to understand even without footnotes, (although it's nice to have them handy if you need them). Austen's wonderful talent for dialogue still makes this little novel a treat to read. I have re-read Northanger Abbey every year since I was a teenager myself, and I still smile all the way through it!
reviewed by oden on November 29, 2006 1:05 PM