Northanger Abbey centres on Catherine Morland, who is 'in training for a heroine; she read all such works as heroines should read to supply their memories with those quotations which are so serviceable and so soothing in the vicissitudes of their eventful lives.' Looking for a hero, she travels to Bath and makes new friends and acquaintances. She then visits Northanger Abbey, the home of her new friends Eleanor and Henry Tilney. Will Catherine's love of novels help or hinder her in her quest to marry well?

The Author

Jane Austen was born in 1775 in Hampshire. She had five brothers and a sister, so there was a limited amount of financial support that her parents could provide to them all. Given the limited career options for women at that time, it was considered that her best hope for financial stability was to marry. In 1795/6, she attended balls and spent time with a man named Tom Lefroy. However, he went abroad in January 1796 so their flirtations did not lead to marriage. The Austen family had relatives in the city of Bath, so they visited occasionally, and moved there in 1800 after her father retired as a rector. In 1802 Jane received a marriage proposal, from the wealthy but difficult Harris Bigg-Wither. She initially accepted, but withdrew her acceptance the following day.

Writing novels was a way for women to earn money, although it was considered to be more suitable as a hobby rather than a profession. Jane had been writing stories and poems from an early age. Her first published novel was Sense and Sensibility - it appeared in 1811, with the author named as 'A Lady'. Pride and Prejudice appeared in 1813, followed by Mansfield Park in 1814 and Emma in 1816. Persuasion was published posthumously in 1818 (Jane died in 1817 and was buried at Winchester Cathedral). The manuscript of Northanger Abbey (originally titled Susan) was completed in 1803 and sold to a bookseller. However, they didn't publish it and sold the rights back to Jane in 1816 for the same price as they had paid (£10). Another novel called Susan had been published in 1809, so Jane changed the title (and the protagonist's name) to Catherine. Northanger Abbey was finally published in 1818.

A Year in the Life

The story takes place over the 12 month period when Catherine Morland is 17/18. It begins with the Morland family history. Catherine's father Richard is a clergyman who is fairly wealthy thanks to owning property. Catherine's mother has 'a good temper' and 'a good constitution' - she had ten children, including three sons older than Catherine.

Catherine visits Bath with Mr and Mrs Allen, who 'owned the chief of the property about Fullerton, the village in Wiltshire where the Morlands lived.' Catherine is introduced to Henry Tilney, a man eight years her senior. 'He talked with fluency and spirit - and there was an archness and pleasantry in his manner which interested, though it was hardly understood by her.'

Catherine also meets the Thorpe family - Mrs Thorpe's son John is a friend of Catherine's brother James. Isabella Thorpe, aged 21, becomes Catherine's friend and teaches her about fashion and flirtation. They read novels together, in particular The Mysteries of Udolpho, a Gothic novel by Mrs Radcliffe. James Morland and John Thorpe visit Bath. Isabella falls in love with James, but John bores Catherine with talk of horses and carriages. Tensions occur when John Thorpe declares his love for Catherine, even though she had not encouraged him, and Isabella is entranced by Captain Frederick Tilney, Henry's older brother.

To Catherine's delight, she is invited to visit the Tilneys' home - Northanger Abbey, in Gloucestershire. 'Her passion for ancient edifices was next in degree to her passion for Henry Tilney'. Thinking the building would be 'a fine old place, just like what one reads about', Catherine is somewhat disappointed by how homely and modern its decoration is. She is fascinated by the furniture in the bedroom she is assigned, but discovers it does not contain secret treasures after all - just storage for guests. Similarly Catherine's imagination runs away with her when she discovers Henry's mother had died in the Abbey nine years ago. Henry brings her sensibly back to earth.

In the central part of England [...] Murder was not tolerated, servants were not slaves, and neither poison nor sleeping potions to be procured, like rhubarb, from every druggist.

There is some drama when Henry's father ejects Catherine from the Abbey, as he had believed John Thorpe's gossip - initially he was led to believe Catherine was very wealthy, then was told she had no money. However, he soon discovers the truth is in between, and thus is willing to consent to Henry and Catherine's marriage.

Main Characters

The characters in the novel include the Morland, Thorpe and Tilney families and their friends and acquaintances.

Catherine Morland

At the beginning of the story, Catherine is 17. She has dark hair and pale skin. As a child, 'She was fond of all boy's plays, and greatly preferred cricket not merely to dolls, but to the more heroic enjoyments of infancy'.

Henry Tilney

Henry Tilney is a clergyman. He is 'rather tall, had a pleasing countenance, a very intelligent and lively eye, and, if not quite handsome, was very near it.' Also he is described as having 'a brown skin with dark eyes, and rather dark hair.'

Eleanor Tilney

A kind friend to Catherine. She becomes a Viscountess when she marries a 'charming young man' who inherits a noble title and considerable wealth.

Isabella Thorpe

Isabella is tall and her mother judges her to be 'a fine young woman' and 'the handsomest' of all her three daughters becomes friends with Catherine while they are in Bath. After Catherine leaves to go to Northanger Abbey, they exchange letters, but Catherine is not impressed by Isabella's behaviour towards James.

John Thorpe

John is 'a stout young man of middling height'. He exaggerates and boasts, such as claiming his horse 'cannot go less than ten miles an hour'. Catherine sees through him when she asks if he has read Udolpho - he says, 'I never read novels [...] If I read any, it shall be Mrs Radcliffe's', and her reply is, Udolpho was written by Mrs Radcliffe.'

James Morland

Catherine's brother, James is a student at Oxford University. He is friends with John Thorpe, but tends to be a voice of reason when John makes rash decisions. For example, John decides his horse and carriage can travel 50 miles in an afternoon, so they set off to see a castle.
James points out their speed is about seven miles an hour, so they turn back and spend the evening at the Thorpes' home instead. The last the reader hears directly of James is via a letter to Catherine in which he confirms he has broken off his engagement to Isabella.

Themes

Northanger Abbey includes several themes of interest to modern readers as well as to readers in the 19th Century. For example, there are various different relationships between men and women, such as Isabella Thorpe's interactions with James Morland and Captain Tilney, John Thorpe's pursuit of Catherine, and the happily-married Mr and Mrs Allen.

There is satire and humour in the novel, such as the description of Mrs Allen as 'one of that numerous class of females, whose society can raise no other emotion than surprise at there being any men in the world who could like them well enough to marry them.' Henry Tilney is also amusing - initially Henry enjoys chatting to Catherine, but then he becomes formal, asking clichéd questions: 'how long you have been in Bath; whether you were ever here before; whether you have been at the Upper Rooms, the theatre, and the concert; and how you like the place altogether. I have been very negligent - but are you now at leisure to satisfy me in these particulars? If you are I will begin directly.'

There is some discussion of the novel as a genre: 'Although our productions have afforded more extensive and unaffected pleasure than those of any other literary corporation in the world, no species of composition has been so much decried.'

The roles and expectations of women are also considered. For example: '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.' In contrast: 'I should no more lay it down as a general rule that women write better letters than men, that they sing better duets, or drew better landscapes. In every power, of which taste is the foundation, excellence is pretty fairly divided between the sexes.'

Legacy

Northanger Abbey has not been adapted for film and television as often as other Jane Austen Novels, but there are some notable interpretations. A BBC production from 1987 featured Peter Firth as Henry and Katharine Schlesinger as Catherine. To increase the action and suspense, it introduced a scheming Marchioness and exaggerated the Gothic architecture of the Abbey. The 2007 TV movie is better known - the screenplay was by Andrew Davies, who was renowned for his adaptation of Pride and Prejudice (1995) featuring Colin Firth¹ as Darcy. Again, to increase the drama, the Abbey was made much darker and more Gothic. Some erotic scenes were introduced, notably Catherine's dreams about the characters in the Gothic novels she reads. Felicity Jones played Catherine, and JJ Feild played Henry². The novel also inspired the film Ruby in Paradise (1993) - Ruby has similar experiences to Catherine, and is encouraged to read Northanger Abbey.

The book has also been studied in academic publications. For example, Northanger Abbey and Jane Austen's Conception of the Value of Fiction by John K Mathison (1957) discusses how the novel, and the novels within the novel, help young people to mature and develop critical thinking. 'True Indian Muslin' and the Politics of Consumption in Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey by Lauren Miskin (2015) examines how fabric is used to signify the context of the time in which the novel is set. Churches, Chapels, Abbeys, and Cathedrals in Northanger Abbey by Brenda S Cox (2019) considers the places of worship that Catherine did (and didn't) visit during her time in Bath and other locations.