Get ready for a lighearted entertainment in Jane Austen’s famous gothic parady, Northanger Abbey.
Jane Austen was an english novelist whose romantic works earned her the title for being one of the most read writer in English Literatue. Written approximately during 1798-99, Northanger Abbey was considered as Austen’s first novel to be completed for publication.
The novel follows the story of the seventeen-year-old Catherine Morland, an unlikely heroine who visits Bath together with their family friends Mr. and Mrs. Allen. During her travel, she meets her love interest Henry who invites her to their family estate, Northanger Abbey. Being a Gothic thriller aficionado, Catherine’s suspicion bursts out on the old place–from the mysterious death of Henry’s mother, his family secret, trust, and wild conspiracies.
There is great power on how Austen layered an almost satyrical veil in the story. Her intention to satarize the conventions of popular Gothic novels during that time was brave and intriguing. The characterization of Catherine here is not that kind of women that men would fall in love with. She lacks perception and experience unlike heroines of other Gothic novels.
In terms of themes, the novel deals with Youth and the common consequences faced by a teen like peer pressure, courting, and women play. Simply put, it is a coming-out-of-age novel flaired with entertaining details of its gothic satarization. So download, lay back, and devour on this charming classic.
Related Links:
Northanger Abbey on Google Books
Northanger Abbey on Good Reads
Northanger Abbey on Project Gutenberg