A review by storyatelier_
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

NORTHANGER ABBEY is one of Jane Austen’s earliest completed novels, a satirical piece that follows its heroine coming into her own. My favourite thing about this book is just how hilarious it is: John Thorpe can’t shut up about horses, Isabella is so obviously conniving, and best of all, Catherine is so deep into her gothic novels that they influence how she deals with reality. Her preoccupation with gothic fiction influences Catherine’s understanding and interpretation of things, especially during her stay at Northanger Abbey: she assumes the pages in the back of the antique cabinet contain records of some sort of crime when they’re basically a stack of invoices for laundry services, or she thinks the lady of the house was poisoned by her husband when she really passed away from an illness. When the narrator refers to Catherine as the book’s heroine, there’s a certain ironic tone in the way Catherine seems convinced that her own life with play out like she’s the heroine of a gothic novel when it’s all really mundane.