Book Review
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
AUTHOR: Jane Austen
GENRE: Classic Romance, Gothic Fiction
PUBLISHED IN: December, 1817
MY RATING: 4.5/5 stars
*NOTE: THIS REVIEW DOES NOT CONTAIN SPOILERS AS ONLY BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF FEW INSTANCES ARE GIVEN. OVERALL SITUATIONS ARE DESCRIBED.
I read this book a long time back and honestly, Pride and Prejudice and Northanger Abbey are my favourite Jane Austen books. I absolutely love the plot, the way story goes, the usual classic drama and everything else. If you haven’t read this book already then, you must!
Our protagonist, Catherine Morland is one person who is an explorer. She is a curious and adventurous soul who loves to visit new places and learn about them. She loves to read gothic novels. She is determined to always see the best in people. However, this leads to her being too innocent towards the uncanny behaviours of the people around her like that of her very friend Isabella.
The story begins when Catherine is invited to stay with her neighbours, the Allens in Fullerton. They all together visit Bath, spend great time there by going to balls and meeting many new people. Among these new people, is Henry Tilney (I admire him a lot and I believe all those who have read this book, too admire him as much as I do!) who is one of the main characters in the book. Catherine finds Henry to be a great personality and starts spending time with him, dancing and chatting.
However, Henry Tilney is for some reason, not to be seen for a couple of weeks. This leads to Catherine’s being highly dissatisfied.
But, times begin to get better as Catherine meets Isabella, who is a charming young lady. Catherine and Isabella become great friends and once again, Catherine is delighted to be a part of the parties.
The story takes a twist as Catherine’s brother- James and Isabella’s brother- John arrive in Bath. While Isabella spends time with James, Catherine is forced to be with John. She doesn’t really like his company as he is a boastful and dominating character.
The story keeps on revolving around the four of these while Henry is not present. When Henry arrives back, he is accompanied with his sister- Eleanor and father- General Tilney.
John and his family are keen on building relations with Catherine. (Read the book to know if their efforts go in vain or not!) Equations between James and Isabella are also changing. There are a few misunderstandings that take place between Henry and Catherine due to various reasons.
General Tilney, now, does not think much highly about Catherine and is against Henry’s being with her. In the end, however, things turn out to be great for all!
You need to read the book to know exactly how the dots get connected! I am sure you want to know what happens in the end!
Favourite quote from the book:
“If adventures do not befall a young lady in her own village, she must seek them abroad.”
~ Jane Austen
I absolutely adore the story. I rate it 4.5/5 stars.
Have you read Northanger Abbey? Let me know in the comments section if you have read it! Do not forget to tell me who your favourite character is!
Check out my previous post here.
Connect with me on Twitter: @meher_gandhi
With love,
Meher
The Scribblings 
Oh, I love that quote! It’s so logical 🙂
Lovely post, Meher! I only read Northanger Abbey once–and am sorry to say that I was not favourably impressed by it. I’ll have to read it again now, since you recommend it so strongly 🙂
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Thank you so much!💙
Maybe you’ll like Northanger Abbey once you read it again!
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Aah! I need to read this. ❤
Seems prettyyy interesting! 🙂
Ugh, my TBR is getting too long now :((
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Yes, you definitely should!
Don’t worry, even my TBR list is getting gigantic and never-ending.😂
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Hello. I came from the Community Pool. Northanger Abbey is the only Jane Austen I have not read more than once. I did not understand at the time that it was a satire on Gothic novels. A long time after, I read The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe, and it fell into place: Catherine expects Gothic stuff to happen, and it never does. Knowing what “Sensibility” meant makes “Sense and Sensibility”, er, make more sense. Thank you for reminding me of the book.
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Hey!
Many people have read the book but haven’t understood the exact theme and that is one of the reasons why I posted this review! I haven’t read The Mysteries Of Udolpho by Ann Radcliff yet. But, I remember finishing Northanger Abbey and promising myself to read it. Now, that you’ve reminded me of it, I will surely make it a point to read it!
Yes, Sense And Sensibility is one book title from which I could already draw out what the book might be like! And, I loved it to the core!
Thanks for sharing your views, Clare!
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I love Northanger Abbey! While it’s not my favourite of Austen’s books, it’s certainly worth the read. And yes, you have to understand the underlying satire. Reading a book by Mrs. Radcliffe helps with that.
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I will definitely make it a point to read one of the books by Mrs. Radcliffe and what better than The Mysteries Of Udolpho! Thanks for the suggestion!
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I recently read this. I love all Jane Austin books.
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Yay! Me too!
Thanks for visiting!
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