I’m going to divert from Young Adult fiction today to look
at a bit of classic literature. You will
soon discover that I’m a bit of an Austen fan and she is one of the few romance
writers that I can stand. I would like
to eventually review all six of Jane Austen’s published novels, but I felt it
was very important that I start not with one of the three high profile Austen
classics (Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility and Emma) but with
Jane’s first novel. Northanger Abbey was
the first novel that Austen completed, however it was not the first published –
in fact it wasn’t published until after her death.
Now I’m nowhere near decisive enough to actually be able to
pick a favourite Jane Austen novel, but if I were to try, Northanger Abbey
would be one of the front-runners. It is
a delightful book, short in length and fairly simple to follow (unlike a lot of
her other, rather complex narratives), which makes it my pick if you are new to
Austen or even classic literature. But
let’s look at the story before I give any more opinions.
Our heroine (because Jane Austen books always have a heroine as opposed to a main character
or protagonist), is young Catherine Morland.
She is 17 years of age, which if you know your history, was a good
marrying age for women in the Regency era, and one of ten children of a very
loving country clergyman. She is an avid
reader with a very active imagination and a love of Gothic novels, in
particular the works of Ann Radcliffe.
At the kind invitation of their wealthy neighbours Mr and
Mrs Allen, Catherine joins the childless couple on a journey to Bath to enjoy
the winter season and her first encounter in real ‘society’. After a slow start due to not really having
any friends in Bath, Catherine meets the charming, clever and handsome Mr.
Henry Tilney, the second son of a rather wealthy family. Soon after, Catherine meets Isabella Thorpe,
the rather spirited and exceptionally flirtatious daughter of one of Mrs
Allen’s old school friends, and the sister of John Thorpe, a friend of her
elder brother James. Catherine and
Isabella become fast friends, sharing a love of gothic novels, and they are
soon joined by James and John, the latter of whom forms a prompt interest in
Catherine.
Before long, Mr. Tilney re-enters the story, this time with
his sister, the perfectly elegant but extremely sweet and kind Eleanor. Catherine forms an immediate friendship with
the siblings, and also meets their rather pompous and imposing father, General
Tilney. After spending a good part of
the season in Bath, Catherine is surprisingly invited by General Tilney to join
the family at their estate – Northanger Abbey, which she of course
accepts. The large, old house holds many
secrets, and with an overactive imagination like Catherine’s, intriguing and
often amusing incidents are certain to unfold.
As I mentioned earlier, the storyline is rather simple, not
in a negative way, but in the sense that it is very easily to follow. If you are new to this sort of literature,
the language can be a challenge in itself, so the simplicity of the narrative
helps to make it accessible.
The characters though, are anything but simple. Catherine Morland is delightful as the
heroine of this story. She is
ridiculously naïve and the fact that she has almost no idea that several
gentlemen are interested in her is actually quite endearing and amusing. She is terribly trusting and assumes that
those who are her friends would not lie to her or abuse her trust on purpose,
which of course leads to all sorts of complications and misunderstandings. The Thorpes are extremely amusing in their
vulgarity and constant attempts to raise their own importance at the expense of
others. They seem to jump off the page,
almost as caricatures, and the fact that you can see not-so-pleasant qualities
in them that Catherine obviously misses, just seems to make the whole thing
more enjoyable. The Allens are pleasant
and unimposingly amusing ‘sidekicks’, who bring their own quirks to Catherine’s
little world (Mrs Allen’s obsession with fashion and clothing always makes me
smile) and add some extra colour and depth to the cast of characters.
Whilst I cannot pin down a favourite Austen Novel, Henry
Tilney is by far my favourite of all Jane Austen’s male love interests. To say he is charming would be to do him a disservice;
he is clever, funny, honest, caring and a complete and utter flirt! He shows great kindness towards his sister
Eleanor, and is incredibly patient with the terribly clueless Catherine, although
he does love to tease her (good-naturedly of course). He is a man who understands the ways of the
world and yet is not swayed by it; he knows his own heart and mind and
eventually that serves him well.
Besides being a lovely story with well-written characters,
it is fascinating to note how much of Jane Austen’s personality and thoughts
you can discern from Northanger Abbey.
Austen has a very specific writing style, which reveals something of her
inner self in all of her works, but I find Northanger to be one of the most
interesting. There is a lot of focus in
the book on the ridiculousness and frivolity of novels and in the dangers of
letting one’s mind wander too far from reality into the realms of fantasy. Austen’s own insecurities of herself as a young
writer and her choice of profession (female writers were very rare and even
less so respected at the time) are expressed through her teasing of novels and
the romantic minds of young women. It is
rather special and almost intimate to get such an insight into a talented and
respected author’s mind.
Northanger Abbey is definitely a book I recommend, it is
delightful and one of those stories that quickly welcomes you in to its
world. I would love to hear your
thoughts, especially if you decide to read the book after reading this review.
I am currently reading ‘The Great Gatsby’ so that will be my
next review, hopefully it will be up soon.