Northanger Abbey (Easy Classics)

Written by Jane Austen and Gemma Barder

Narrated by Charlie Sanderson

An adapted and illustrated edition of Jane Austen's romantic classic - at an easy-to-read level for all ages!
All Catherine wants is to be like the heroines in the books she reads. On her first trip away from home, she finally gets her chance. A new friendship and a growing love lead her to the spooky Northanger Abbey. There Catherine will find that a little imagination can cause a lot of trouble.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sweet Cherry Publishing
• Release date: Jul 23, 2020
• ISBN: 9781782266143

Jane Austen

Born in 1775, Jane Austen published four of her six novels anonymously. Her work was not widely read until the late nineteenth century, and her fame grew from then on. Known for her wit and sharp insight into social conventions, her novels about love, relationships, and society are more popular year after year. She has earned a place in history as one of the most cherished writers of English literature.

Reviews for Northanger Abbey (Easy Classics)

[judygibson-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It helps to know that this was probably Austen's first book, so if I didn't like it that doesn't mean I'm not an Austen fan. It also helps to know that the plight of upper class women at that time was that they were entirely dependent on men for financial security. Still, I really can't get past the vapid characters and their pointless existence. Okay, our heroine was 17 years old and learned a lot along the way, possibly becoming less vapid over the course of the story. But geez!

[castlelass · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Protagonist Catherine Morland is invited by her wealthy neighbors to accompany them to the city of Bath, where she participates in the social season. Catherine develops friendships and a romantic interest. Her brother arrives from Oxford and become engaged to one of her friends. Catherine is young and naïve. She takes people at face value. She learns through painful experience that some people cannot be trusted.

The book is separated into two parts. The first, in Bath, introduces the characters and sets them in motion. The second, at Northanger Abbey, provides the majority of the conflicts and resolution. The writing is emotive, and either I am getting used to circuitous sentences or this book is told in a more straight-forward manner than, say, Sense and Sensibility, which I recently read.

Austen was obviously a fan of how reading can broaden horizons. She pokes gentle fun at the gothic novel. Published in 1818, during the Regency era, Austen comments on the issues of her day – morality, character, social mores, and limits on a woman’s agency. I had somehow missed reading this classic before now. I found it delightful.

[greeniezona · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I've read this book before, ages ago as a part of a Gothic Literature course I took in college. This most recent read was for family bedtime story tie. There are some very funny moments and biting satire here (mostly of gothic and popular literature), especially early on. Towards the end it starts to feel like her more famous novels, with everyone more or less getting their just desserts, but perhaps a little less deftly.

[murderbydeath · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Enjoyed it more than Emma but less than Mansfield Park. Critics argue that Northanger Abbey would be better placed among Jane Austen's juvenilia, and while I'm hardly qualified to disagree, I found it to be overall a well-written book save for the character development. In this area, the book proclaims itself loudly to be a very early effort. With the exception of the Thorpe siblings, I thought most of the characters rather bland; I never felt any sense of them as fully fleshed-out people. Indeed, I didn't even really like either Catherine or Henry. The exception, as I said, being the Thorpe siblings. Jane Austen shows herself something of a prodigy in creating villains. Isabelle feels like a Lucy Steele prototype, whereas Mr. Thorpe - well, I just wanted to be able to pull out his parts of the book and throw them across the room at the wall. I found him more asinine and odious than any other Austen villain I've read yet. Willoughby and Wickham were sly, weak and manipulative, but Thorpe is an ass. As I write this, it occurs to me too that Northanger Abbey lacks the understated drama her later works seem to excel at; Lady Catherine's arrival at the Bennet house comes to mind, as does the moment Lucy Steele shocks everyone and turns everything upside down. There are never any turning points in this book; Isabella's letter failed to make any real impression on me and I found myself strangely unresponsive to Catherine's departure from the Abbey. What I wasn't expecting – but was highly entertained by – was the level of satire and parody in Northanger Abbey; Miss Austen takes a good whack at gothic romances, while staunchly defending novels against critics who disparaged them and their readers as being low. Also, Jane Austen's own voice, as narrator, is clear as a bell throughout the book, commenting directly to the reader on more than one occasion. I rated Northanger Abbey four stars because in spite of how it might have compared to her later works, I didn't want to put the book down; I wanted to just stay lost in Regency Bath and the Abbey until the very last (somewhat unsatisfying) page.

[jamiem12 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It's a classic!!

[et.carole · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Loved this one. Got it in a small green volume from our local library. My first Jane Austen read.

[hobbitprincess · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I realize I've read this twice before, but I enjoyed it more this time than in the past. This is lighter and more amusing than some of Austen's books. Catherine's over-active imagination, fueled by the novels she reads, leads to some interesting situations and misunderstandings. As always, I enjoy reading about this time in English history.

[belana-990668 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love Pride and Prejudice, but Northanger Abbey has always been one of my favourite Jane Austen books. What's not to love? A young girl with her head full of Gothic novels, falling in love with the youngest son of a noble man. A spooky mansion, a secret, angst, etc. I think it's brilliant, but then I guess I'm a Jane Austen fan. ;)

[jessicareadsthings · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I know people don't typically enjoy this novel because it doesn't "sound like Austen." But I really loved it. I can see so much of myself in Catherine Moreland. Aside from assuming that I'm living in a Gothic novel, of course.

[spiralsheep · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

113/2020. This was a set text at school when I was 11. As you can probably imagine, I had far more in common with the protagonist in the first few paragraphs, when she was keeping pets and rolling down hills, than for the entire remainder of the novel. I had no interest in romance novels and probably the only gothic fiction I'd encountered was Scooby Doo cartoons. And so I, like so many other schoolchildren, was unnecessarily put off a classic text and author for no perceivable reason. Fortunately, unlike many other ex-schoolchildren, I had the inclination to re-assay a few of the classics that education had ruined for me by forcing them on me when I was far too young to connect with them. Needless to say that as an adult I have much more empathy for the teenage heroine than I did as a child.Northanger Abbey isn't as funny as Pride and Prejudice, or as emotive as Sense and Sensibility, and it shares the mild tendency to longueurs with Persuasion, but the protagonist is adorable and the author witty.My only annoyance with the novel is the hero, Henry Tilney, who is one of those ghastly entitled sons of the gentry who claims a position in the Church of England for the tied house and tithed income and then takes the money and runs, leaving the pastoral care of his parishioners to an underpaid curate. Jane Austen did care enough about the situation to show Henry attending at least one parish meeting, which would've been in his financial interests after all, and filling in at one Sunday service because his curate was otherwise occupied, so that's more of a damn than most of this author's peers gave, but even as someone who couldn't give two hoots about religion I still can't like or approve of Henry the greedy hypocrite. I can only hope teen bride Catherine Morland's early family training stays with her into marriage and she doesn't begin to imitate her Tilney in-laws too much.Quote"She was heartily ashamed of her ignorance - a misplaced shame. Where people wish to attach, they should always be ignorant. To come with a well−informed mind is to come with an inability of administering to the vanity of others, which a sensible person would always wish to avoid. A woman especially, if she have the misfortune of knowing anything, should conceal it as well as she can."

[philsyphe · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

While I admire Jane Austen’s eloquent language, gripping plots are not her strong point. That said, “Northanger Abbey” engaged me more than all but one (“Emma”) of her other books. More happens in this novel than in, say, “Pride & Prejudice”, and I liked most of the characters, especially Catherine.

[thetruebookaddict · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Not my favorite Austen, but definitely worth a read for any Austen fan. Austen had a knack for writing duplicitous characters. Isabella Thorpe, I'm looking at you. I loved all the references to the Gothic novels of the time.

[leslie398 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When I was younger, I didn't think that this book by Austen measured up to her other books. Now I find it so amusing! Perhaps I was too close to the teenage mentality that she pokes fun at in this book to see the humor back then.

[nx74defiant · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Loved the way she mocked the tropes of this type of book

[nog_5 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This early Austen skewers the Gothic novel, or at least how seriously impressionable young ladies were affected by them. I was reminded of how often Poe used the word "gloomy", but here it is used for comic effect. What's interesting is how you can see the prototypes of future Austen characters; here they are definitely more cartoonish, especially a particular cad. Right out of the gate, she pulls out her favorite plot device: the unfortunate misunderstanding that won't get resolved until the final pages. Once again, we get to that ending with the happy wedding. Obviously, these marriages were destined to work out, since the novels stop here.

[aliceanna-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Really solid for her first work. Enjoyable characters. Not TOO predictable plot. The ending was a little abrupt, but overall a quick, fun read that shows how Austen developed her craft.

[steller0707 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

So says Jane Austen in Northanger Abbey - I can almost hear her voice:

“And now I may dismiss my heroine to the sleepless couch, which is the true heroine's portion - to a pillow strewed with thorns and wet with tears. And lucky may she think herself, if she get another good night's rest in the course of the next three months.”

Is this a foreshadowing of more ominous events that will intrude on our heroine's new society life? Of course it is! Catherine is young and naive when she travels to Bath and begins to make friends, to go to balls and to learn what manners are expected of a lady. She loves gothic novels, popular at the time. So when she finds herself a guest at Northanger Abbey, her imagination runs wild.

The annotated version I read was peppered with prints of Bath, the countryside and the fashions of the times, which added to the enjoyment of Jane Austen's prose. Although not one of her better known novels, it is just as good.

[haloedrain · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I see what she was trying to do here, but it comes off more frustrated and catty than satirical. It does make me glad that I live in the 21st century, though, and not the 18th.

[darthdeverell · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey was the first she completed for publication, in 1803, though it was not published until after her death in 1817. The work satirizes gothic novels though the heroine, Catherine Morland, who “is in training for a heroine.” She is fond of gothic novels, particularly the work of Ann Radcliffe’s work, and this allows Austen to comment on the novel as a literary form, defending it against critics who derided it for its supposed lack of serious content. Discussing her reading habits, Catherine describes the follies then current in historical writing, saying, “The quarrels of popes and kings, with wars or pestilences, in every page; the men all so good for nothing, and hardly any women at all – it is very tiresome: and yet I often think it odd that it should be so dull, for a great deal of it must be invention. The speeches that are put into the heroes’ mouths, their thoughts and designs – the chief of all this must be invention, and invention is what delights me in other books” (pg. 102). As modern academic history was relatively recent, first appearing with Edward Gibbon’s The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire in 1776, Austen comments on the earlier fashion of historical writing and how authors would simply repackage classical texts with some of their own inventions to spice up the narrative. The power of reading runs through Austen’s work, driving many of Catherine’s choices and informing her conversations. This Barnes & Noble edition includes an introduction and notes from Alfred Mac Adam that the Austen scholar may find interesting, though his habit of putting definitions for all the early-nineteenth century terms in the footnotes becomes distracting, especially as the meaning of most can be gleaned from context.

[ainjel-3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Not my favourite Austen novel, but still a lovely read and a very intriguing story. Northanger Abbey concerns itself with appearance, style, and fashion. This is established immediately with the author's advertisement, and with the repetition in the first few chapters that Catherine is the "heroine" and must appear "heroic." Of course, Austen breaks down the rules of appearances, demonstrating throughout the length of the novel that nothing is as it appears. Even the lovely abbey that Catherine longs for, she soon remarks that it is the place where she has been most miserable, and received the most terrible news, as opposed to its exterior joys. All in all, it's a snarky Austen, and a witty Austen, but it lacks the mastery of some of Austen's other works.

[danielstj · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A quite surprising novel in its frankness and how it treats the subject matter. Austen proves her worth by crafting characters whose journeys inward parallel the motion of the plot-line occurring around them. While the prose might seem a little dated by today's standards, there is still much to be admired here. This is, I believe, one of Austen's finer novels.

3.35-- worth the read.

[eraderneely · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

After being so-so about Pride and Prejudice, which everyone seems to love, I was suprised at how much I liked Northanger Abbey. It is genuinely funny.

[cassandrat-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

actually very exciting and intriguing. early references to baseball and literature. it has a lot of character. Austen still can't write dialogue for confessions of love.

[jamiebh-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I'm on a mission to read (and in some cases re-read) all of Jane Austen's novels this year. I had never read Northanger Abbey and a good friend suggested I start here because the book is entertaining and on the shorter side.

I really enjoyed the story and the amazing amount undertone of sarcasm in regards to the lack of respect for novel writing/novel reading during this time.

I kept having to remind myself that Catherine is only 17 however, regardless of age she has absolutely no self awareness or confidence. Honestly, there were quite a few times where she annoyed me to the point of having to put the book down. I hated how naive she was in recognizing Isabella as the awful man hunter that she is and I hated that she allowed both the Thorpes (and even her own brother) to manipulate her continuously.

I loved how Henry tried to act as Catherine's voice of reason and teach her what things in life are truly important or how to see people for what they really are. His patience in her daftness is sweet and makes him the perfect hero and love interest.

This novel was entertaining and scarily reminiscent of certain young girls even in this modern age.

[seriesousbooks · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I think Pride and Prejudice is still my fave Austen novel but this is a close second. I love the satire of it all and wish more of her books were like this. highly entertaining!

[frenzie_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

At first glance a simple parody of gothic novels turned parody of manners, Austen's irony manages to surpass the limitations that might seem inherent in such an approach. Perhaps the parody is not of the fiction as of the society that inspired it, that reveled in keeping women ignorant.

[ecataldi-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Not nearly as strong as Jane Austen's other novels, this one is a little lacking but makes up for it with beautiful prose and well developed characters. This novel attempts to be gothic in points and I don't believe that is Austen's strong suit; I'm more about deception, societal roles, and romance. This story centers on Catherine, a smart sensible girl of 18 who gets to spend several weeks in Bath with her childless neighbors. While there she becomes best friends with Isabelle and finds herself always going on double dates with Isabelle, her older brother, John, and James, Catherine's older brother. John quite fancies Catherine but she has her eye on Mr. Tinley and she's determined to make his and his younger sister's acquaintance. What's a girl to do (hint, get a husband... but which man to choose?!?!?) Good ol' fashioned regency era romance.

[deltaqueen50 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Although Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen contains several elements that make one believe this is a Gothic novel, it is really more of a satire on Gothic novels, especially the ones that were popular during Jane Austen’s time. This is a coming of age story about seventeen year old Catherine Morland, who is thrilled to be taken to Bath, a resort community for wealthy members of the British society, by family friends.While at Bath, she meets a young clergyman, Henry Tilney and is very impressed by him. She also befriends his sister, Eleanor. She is invited to accompany the Tilney family to their home of Northanger Abbey. Catherine who pictures herself as a Gothic novel heroine is thrilled to be visiting the Abbey and gives her imagination free rein which leads her into some embarrassing difficulties. Also a rejected suitor spreads some lies about her family’s finances which causes Mr. Tilney to order his son, Henry, to stay away from her. Eventually the truth comes out and Henry and Catherine are free to declare their love for each other. I listened to an audio version of Northanger Abbey as read by Juliet Stevenson who did an excellent job with the story and the many characters. Through Catherine’s adventures she matures and comes to a greater understanding of herself. Although Catherine and Henry didn’t have the spark of Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice, or the quiet intensity of Anne Elliott and Captain Wentworth from Persuasion, they grew on me over the course of the book and I found myself rooting for them. Northanger Abbey is an excellent vehicle for showing Jane Austen’s comedic side and I enjoyed this playful love story a great deal.

[librarycin · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

17-year old Catherine has gone to visit friends, Mr. and Mrs. Allen, in Bath. While there, she meets Isabelle and Miss Tilney, who will also become friends,. Miss Tilney has a handsome borther, who catches Catherine's eye, though Isabelle's brother is also interested in Catherine. I really liked this one. I liked Catherine and Mr. Tilney, in particular, and I loved their banter! I thought it got even more interesting in the last 1/3 of the book, when Catherine came to Northanger Abbey, the Tilney's home. I especially enjoyed Mr. Tilney's description of the house and Catherine's first couple of nights there. So far, this is one of my favourites by Austen.

[krazy4katz · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Although Jane Austen has a wonderful sense of humor, which weaves its way through her stories, I found the plot rather dull. I knew (or suspected) the ending quite early in the book and thought more could have been written about it. Instead it was just tacked onto the end of the book. Not much happens but the dialogue is very good.