Catherine Morland is modest and well mannered, more comfortable reading her novels than socializing with people. When she is unexpectedly invited to the English resort city of Bath for the winter season, where many wealthy families reside, Catherine seizes the opportunity. Eager to create some excitement in her life, Catherine will not miss the doldrums of her home in the countryside.
Catherine quickly makes friends with Isabella Thorpe, a coquettish young woman who has a predilection for spreading gossip. Quirky, outspoken, and with her nose in everybody’s business, Isabella is the complete opposite in personality to Catherine. Soon after her arrival in Bath, Catherine is invited by a family called the Tilneys to stay for a few weeks at their home, Northanger Abbey. Excited for the prospect of living out the very same circumstances as in her beloved gothic novels, Catherine is in for a rather rude awakening.
From attending dances, to socializing with members of the upper-class, to investigating a mysterious wing of the old manor that no one is allowed to enter, Catherine escapes her sheltered life for one that is crowded with love, mystery, and betrayal. When she is finally forced to return home from Northanger Abbey, she is left with her wild imagination and a longing for her own chance at love. Worried she has spent too much time with her nose in a book, Catherine is faced with a stark reality-check, she must grow up fast or fear ending up alone.
Northanger Abbey parodies the traditional gothic novel in subtle ways. With references to Ann Radcliffe’s gothic novels The Romance of the Forest and The Mysteries of Udolpho, Jane Austen created the character of Catherine to remind the reader to be weary of an overactive imagination and that one must exercise caution when decoding what is true as well as what we want to believe is true.
With an eye-catching new cover, and a professionally type-set manuscript, this revised edition of Northanger Abbey is both modern and readable. Now in a collectable set, read all the great Austen classics from Mint Editions Books.
