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    Northanger Abbey
    Northanger Abbey
    Northanger Abbey
    Audiobook (abridged)2 hours

    Northanger Abbey

    Written by Jane Austen

    Narrated by Joanna Lumley

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    Jane Austen skewers the novelistic extremes of her day made popular in many 18th-century Gothic potboilers. Dilapidated castles, locked rooms, inexplicable chests, enigmatic notes, and tyrannical fathers all figure into Northanger Abbey, but with a decidedly sardonic twist.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAudio Holdings
    Release dateJan 1, 2009
    ISBN9781601361219
    Author

    Jane Austen

    Jane Austen was born in 1775 in rural Hampshire, the daughter of an affluent village rector who encouraged her in her artistic pursuits. In novels such as Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park and Emma she developed her subtle analysis of contemporary life through depictions of the middle-classes in small towns. Her sharp wit and incisive portraits of ordinary people have given her novels enduring popularity. She died in 1817.

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    Reviews for Northanger Abbey

    4/5

    5,187 ratings211 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Catherine Morland was an ordinary young girl who was good-natured, inquisitive, and gullible. She blossomed when she traveled to Bath from her country parsonage and "came out" to society. There she was easily deceived by the calculating Isabella, but her basic goodness was never in doubt. I like to think her naivete was due to her youth and protected upbringing. Also, she was extremely fond of reading novels which further sparked her already lively imagination.The plot was simple and straighforward made a bit more interesting by the gothic intrigue of the abbey itself and the General's dark demeanor. I was disappointed in the hurried and weak ending. Perhaps I just wanted it to go on a bit longer so I could spend more time with Austen's delightful characters.
    • 5/5
      Don't go reading this book all serious-like, you have to lighten up with this one and enjoy the romp. Jane Austen lets her wit right out in the open and pokes fun wherever she can. Northanger Abbey is very different than Austen's other books. Pride and Prejudice and Emma are both very upbeat, social books, while Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield Park, and Persuasion are more introspective, and Northanger Abbey is in a league of its own.
    • 3/5
      I haven't read that many gothic novels from the 1700:s, so most of the satire is lost on me.
    • 5/5
      It's been some time since Jane and I communed. The reason: the only major works of hers that I've yet to read are Northanger Abbey and Mansfield Park, my least favorites based on their film adaptations. If your first encounters with the Austen adaptations include all of the BBC's remastered collection from the early 2000s, then consider yourself fortunate. Before then, many of us Austenites we're left to scour through various adaptations and hope for the best.My first encounter with Northanger Abbey was the awful 1986 made-for-TV adaptation that bordered on campy. The characters were all wrong, the score reminiscent of early 80s horror films, and the storyline was hard to follow. I had more questions afterwards, and for a 16-year-old who'd recently discovered Austen, it felt like a waste of an evening and the $0.99 rental fee. The only saving grace was Peter Firth, the dreamy-eyed actor I'd fallen in love with after watching Polanski's 'Tess.Now that I've finally read the book and understand what the heck happened, I could kick myself for having waited so long! This is a great book! Reading through it was like having a conversation with a good friend that you can always pick back up with despite years of absence. It was hilarious, sarcastic, and just my cuppa. I love farce on the big screen, but it's often lost on me in literature, especially the classics. I was afraid that this one would be too based on reviews I'd read, but my worries were unfounded. I feel like it really rounded out my reading this year, and hopefully I get to a few more classics I've avoided before it is over.
    • 3/5
      I didn't like it as much as Emma or Pride and Prejudice, but it still shows Austen's wit and keen eye for character. I love her little jabs at society.
    • 5/5
      A delightful parody of popular 18th century Gothic novels. I never cared much for Austen before, but this book is fantastic.
    • 4/5
      Catherine Morland is taken to stay in Bath by Mr and Mrs Allen. She falls in love with one man, is courted by another, and is invited to stay at an old Abbey where her imagination runs riot.

      Not a huge amount of plot, but plenty of humour as characters are cleverly revealed by their speech and actions. Supposedly a spoof on the romantic fiction of the time, but with a satisfying and happy ending after several misunderstandings are cleared up. Lighter than most Jane Austen, and rather shorter but very enjoyable.
    • 2/5
      I have recently wanted to read Jane Austen again for some time. I had previously read two of her other novels (Pride and Prejudice and Emma) but that was a very long time ago. I've now decided I am not a Jane Austen fan. This is a rather average romance story which is said to be a parody of the classic Gothic novels. The plot (what there was of it) was decent enough but I just felt like I was wading through pages of drivel. I found the dialogue irritating, the banter between the men and women just made me want to scream. Although the style of writing and the language used by the author is indeed beautiful I found the characters immensely irritating. Austen is not for me.
    • 2/5
      didn't really like this austen - didn't like the heroine at all - thought she was very silly getting scared at everything.
    • 2/5
      Jane Austen's first written and last published novel lacks the typical finesse of an experienced writer Jane Austen was in her later books.
    • 4/5
      I know! It’s incomprehensible! A bibliophiliac such as myself, and a lover of Dickens and Bronte no less! But it’s true, I had never picked up Jane before this. And I’ve actually had this book in my collection for a few years, and only just now got around to i.There is nothing shocking to reveal here. I didn’t discover a distaste for Austen or throw the book across the room in anger. I thought it was wonderful. I wasn’t sure what to expect going in, and I was impressed with the hilariously scathing swipes at society life. I loved the discussion of novel reading within the novel. I loved Catherine’s flights of fancy and macabre. I was shocked at how things ended up with Isabella (I guess I should have known better, but I honestly thought she was genuine) and very taken with Eleanor. I absolutely loved the threads of female friendship that ran throughout the novel, and thought the romance was quite secondary in that respect.I was a bit confused by nearly every summary I read of the story. They all mention how the story is about Catherine trying to uncover a dark secret at the Abbey. And in all, that storyline was perhaps 3 chapters of the whole book, and no where near the central plot. I’m unsure why it’s so heavily relied upon in summaries.I loved this, my first foray into Austen, and I look forward to continuing!
    • 4/5
      I am not an Austen fan having read Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility previously. That being said, I found this Austen read a bit better than the aforementioned ones. Firstly, it was shorter and secondly I found it more humorous. The novel is a satire on Gothic novels (which I love). Catherine, the heroine of the book is a voracious reader with a good imagination. As in all the Austen novels I've read, class and money play a big part in the story. 217 pages 3 1/2 stars (almost a 4!)
    • 3/5
      I really couldn't stand Pride and Prejudice, when I read it, a fact I've made no great pains to disguise. But I was determined to get all the way through a Jane Austen book without chucking it across the room at any point, and Northanger Abbey made this easy on me. The tone of the novel is quite fun, and it was quite easy for me to see the cleverness and wit of the author I'd heard so much about and hadn't liked or noticed very much in Pride and Prejudice. Any complaints I might have about the character -- her ignorance, her silliness -- are sort of necessary for the plot to proceed as it does. I think if the novel had been much longer, I'd have got a bit sick of the tone, but it was just the right length, I think.
    • 4/5
      I?m also not a big fan of dark, creepy things, and I thought for sure this book would either fall into that category or be solemn and somber. I really should give Austen more credit; her tongue-in-cheek humor and playful nature shone through in this novel.Based on other reviews, Catherine Morland seems to be like Emma Woodhouse; you either love her or hate her. My characterization of Catherine? She?s a mouse. Meek and timid. Afraid of her own shadow. Catherine reminds me a lot of Anne Elliot. I liked her but in that let-me-tuck-you-under-my-wing-so-no-one-hurts-you kind of way.
    • 3/5
      Simple story. Love the description of the Abbey . Pride and prejudice remains her best piece of work. Can never get over that one.
    • 5/5
      It is so refreshing to read a book that does not have sex, violence and profanity! Modern authors seem to have lost this mysterious art of being able to write a good book without the above mentioned "trinity." Jane Austen's works excel not only in quality of writing (which seems missing in modern authors), but quality of subject. I watched two or three screen renditions of this book and not a single one was able to capture Miss Austen's story. Catherine is not a stupid girl with an absurdly idiotic imagination. If you watched the movies and read this book you will understand my inference. Miss Austen writings all seem to me guided toward good. Henry Tilney is, as all Miss Austen's heroes seem to be, a charming man, elegant and respectful. But unlike other male characters (heroes) of her books, he has a delightful, even teasing sense of humor. His witty comments made me chuckle more than once. I am not a great writer of reviews, so my advice is read it. Even if you don't like the story very much, the writer style will certainly captivate you.
    • 4/5
      I am not an Austen fan having read Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility previously. That being said, I found this Austen read a bit better than the aforementioned ones. Firstly, it was shorter and secondly I found it more humorous. The novel is a satire on Gothic novels (which I love). Catherine, the heroine of the book is a voracious reader with a good imagination. As in all the Austen novels I've read, class and money play a big part in the story. 217 pages 3 1/2 stars (almost a 4!)
    • 2/5
      Jane Austen had a way with writing that made every single sentence in her books feel like an info-dump. It's so hard to concentrate or care when you're reading her books.
    • 3/5
      I read this because my college/medical school roommate, who kept only a handful of books in our room, declared it to be one of her favorite books. It was my first introduction to Austen, and soon after I read through the rest. Northanger Abbey is a satirical take on Gothic novels. The main character is well-versed in these; when she visits her beloved Henry's ancestral home, she expects dark secrets and hidden passages to abound.
    • 4/5
      Northanger Abbey is both a literary satire and a comedy of manners. Its heroine is Catherine Morland, an impressionable young woman of a pure and trusting nature. Catherine is inordinately fond of gothic novels, in particular Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe. She is perpetually dreaming of herself as a heroine in such a novel, and craves the excitement and danger that gothic heroines must endure. Instead, she faces an entirely different challenge: a trip with family friends to the resort city of Bath. Here Catherine meets young men and women whose duplicitous behavior and emotional reserve is like nothing she has ever encountered. Her naive trust and her emotional resilience will both be severely tested.The fact that Northanger Abbey is, in part, a satire of the gothic novel sets it apart in tone from Jane Austen's other novels, but it nonetheless displays her insightful commentary on human nature much as does Pride and Prejudice. Catherine isn't the only one to misjudge others; several other characters, young and old, fall into serious error because they see in others only their own expectations. Austen also decries the ugly materialism and class bias which characterized many of the gentry of her time.Northanger Abbey is shorter and lacking in the depth of character found in Austen's other novels, but Jane Austen's weakest novel is still as good as many authors' best.
    • 4/5
      If you are already a fan of Jane Austen, then I think it is safe to assert that you will enjoy Northanger Abbey.

      This tale features the same type of characters and societal challenges that made Pride and Prejudice such a pleasure for me. Although Elizabeth Bennett is still my favorite Austen heroine, I did like Catherine Morland very much, especially her transition from naive mouse to wiser pussycat (still nice, but not a pushover).

      My only caution would be to mention that this is an early Austen novel, which means the writing is less efficient than her later works. But on the upside, it was fun to see how this author's writing style evolved.
    • 3/5
      It helps to know that this was probably Austen's first book, so if I didn't like it that doesn't mean I'm not an Austen fan. It also helps to know that the plight of upper class women at that time was that they were entirely dependent on men for financial security. Still, I really can't get past the vapid characters and their pointless existence. Okay, our heroine was 17 years old and learned a lot along the way, possibly becoming less vapid over the course of the story. But geez!
    • 4/5
      Protagonist Catherine Morland is invited by her wealthy neighbors to accompany them to the city of Bath, where she participates in the social season. Catherine develops friendships and a romantic interest. Her brother arrives from Oxford and become engaged to one of her friends. Catherine is young and naïve. She takes people at face value. She learns through painful experience that some people cannot be trusted.

      The book is separated into two parts. The first, in Bath, introduces the characters and sets them in motion. The second, at Northanger Abbey, provides the majority of the conflicts and resolution. The writing is emotive, and either I am getting used to circuitous sentences or this book is told in a more straight-forward manner than, say, Sense and Sensibility, which I recently read.

      Austen was obviously a fan of how reading can broaden horizons. She pokes gentle fun at the gothic novel. Published in 1818, during the Regency era, Austen comments on the issues of her day – morality, character, social mores, and limits on a woman’s agency. I had somehow missed reading this classic before now. I found it delightful.
    • 4/5
      I've read this book before, ages ago as a part of a Gothic Literature course I took in college. This most recent read was for family bedtime story tie. There are some very funny moments and biting satire here (mostly of gothic and popular literature), especially early on. Towards the end it starts to feel like her more famous novels, with everyone more or less getting their just desserts, but perhaps a little less deftly.
    • 4/5
      Enjoyed it more than Emma but less than Mansfield Park. Critics argue that Northanger Abbey would be better placed among Jane Austen's juvenilia, and while I'm hardly qualified to disagree, I found it to be overall a well-written book save for the character development. In this area, the book proclaims itself loudly to be a very early effort. With the exception of the Thorpe siblings, I thought most of the characters rather bland; I never felt any sense of them as fully fleshed-out people. Indeed, I didn't even really like either Catherine or Henry. The exception, as I said, being the Thorpe siblings. Jane Austen shows herself something of a prodigy in creating villains. Isabelle feels like a Lucy Steele prototype, whereas Mr. Thorpe - well, I just wanted to be able to pull out his parts of the book and throw them across the room at the wall. I found him more asinine and odious than any other Austen villain I've read yet. Willoughby and Wickham were sly, weak and manipulative, but Thorpe is an ass. As I write this, it occurs to me too that Northanger Abbey lacks the understated drama her later works seem to excel at; Lady Catherine's arrival at the Bennet house comes to mind, as does the moment Lucy Steele shocks everyone and turns everything upside down. There are never any turning points in this book; Isabella's letter failed to make any real impression on me and I found myself strangely unresponsive to Catherine's departure from the Abbey. What I wasn't expecting – but was highly entertained by – was the level of satire and parody in Northanger Abbey; Miss Austen takes a good whack at gothic romances, while staunchly defending novels against critics who disparaged them and their readers as being low. Also, Jane Austen's own voice, as narrator, is clear as a bell throughout the book, commenting directly to the reader on more than one occasion. I rated Northanger Abbey four stars because in spite of how it might have compared to her later works, I didn't want to put the book down; I wanted to just stay lost in Regency Bath and the Abbey until the very last (somewhat unsatisfying) page.
    • 5/5
      It's a classic!!
    • 5/5
      Loved this one. Got it in a small green volume from our local library. My first Jane Austen read.
    • 4/5
      I realize I've read this twice before, but I enjoyed it more this time than in the past. This is lighter and more amusing than some of Austen's books. Catherine's over-active imagination, fueled by the novels she reads, leads to some interesting situations and misunderstandings. As always, I enjoy reading about this time in English history.
    • 5/5
      I love Pride and Prejudice, but Northanger Abbey has always been one of my favourite Jane Austen books. What's not to love? A young girl with her head full of Gothic novels, falling in love with the youngest son of a noble man. A spooky mansion, a secret, angst, etc. I think it's brilliant, but then I guess I'm a Jane Austen fan. ;)
    • 5/5
      I know people don't typically enjoy this novel because it doesn't "sound like Austen." But I really loved it. I can see so much of myself in Catherine Moreland. Aside from assuming that I'm living in a Gothic novel, of course.