NORTHANGER ABBEY REVIEW

Northanger Abbey is a novel by Jane Austen published in the United Kingdom in 1818, after the
writer’s death.

Jane Austen, was a novelist of the 19th century. She was born in 1775 in Steventon Rectory. Since she
was child, she loved writing, especially short stories and in later she began to write novels. Some of her
most important novels are “Sense and Sensibility”, “Pride and Prejudice” and “Persuasion”. In 1801
Jane Austen moved with his family to Bath. In his life she received a proposal of marriage, but she
never married. She moved also to Southampton and to north Hampshire. Jane died on 18 July 1817
when she was only 41 years old.

The novel was written in 1789 when the author was in Hampshire. The novel is divided in two parts:
the first one takes place in Bath, a the big resort town of the upper classes in England; the second half
takes place in Northanger Abbey, a church converted to a home a bit far from Bath.

This book tells the story of Catherine, a young reader of gothic mystery novels. Initially, she lives in the
countryside but then, she is invited to go to Bath by the Allen. She imagines the life outside her town
like that she reads in her novels. In Bath she meets his brother James, the Thorpe, Isabella and John,
and the Tinley, Eleanor and Henry. At a ball she feels in love with Henry Tinley and John admires
Catherine. Isabella and Catherine discuss about gothic novels and they also gossip. Isabella is in love
with James and their families decide that they can date. But later, Isabella is interested in Frederick
Tinley, Henry’s brother. Catherine is sad but, after the general Tinley met her, she is invited to go with
them at their home, Northanger Abbey. She is very happy because she can be with Henry and stay in
the setting of her favourite novels. She thinks that there could be mysteries and that there could
happen stranger things. She also suspects the General of his wife’s murder. Catherine learns that the
relationship between Isabella and his brother ended and that Capitan Tinley has no marriage plans. At
Northanger Abbey things go well but, one day General Tinley decides to send home Catherine, who is
very confused. One day Henry arrives at Fullerton explaining her the causes of his father’s behaviour.
He thought that Catherine was rich but when he learned that she wasn’t he decided that they could no
stay together. However, Henry proposes to Catherine and also Catherine marries a man. Finally,
General Tinley approves the marriage and so they happily marry.

The protagonist of the novel is Catherine Morland, a seventeen years old girl. She lives in Fullerton
with her family and she has never been away from there before going to Bath. She is passionate about
gothic novels and she loves mysteries, like the murder of General Tinley’s wife. She si very intelligent
and in the end, she becomes more independent.
Henry Tinley is Catherine’s lover. He lives at Woodston and he spent also some days at Northanger
Abbey. He is devoted at his family and he is intelligent. He enjoys novels too but of different genres. He
has an unnatural relationship with his father that he proposes to Catherine unless his father
disapproval.
Isabella Thorpe is a young woman who has no fortune. She is Catherine’s best friend at the beginning.
She enjoys flirting with young men and for this Catherine is not happy. At the beginning she had to
marry Catherine’s brother James but he is attracted by Frederick Tinley. But at the end she looses both
of them.
The most important themes in the novel are love and marriage, in particular his economic significance.
As it is shown in the book, Isabella desires a rich husband and she pretends to be always noticed. It is
the same also for General Tinley: he thought that Catherine was rich but, when he discovered the
contrary, he disapproved the marriage. Isabella is disloyal to his lovers differently to Catherine, who is
loyal to Henry. Loyalty is another time also found in the Tinley’s family. Another important thing is the
reading that is a passion that unites the two friends and Catherine and Henry.

Most of the story is told by Catherine, through her eyes and with her feelings and thoughts. In this way
we get the story from her perspective, more realistic. There is also a third person narrator that give us
information about the characters. The presence of this narrator is very clear and there are also a lot of
irony.