Northanger Abbey

1818, 1980 Signet Classic edition
Jane Austen
Northanger Abbey
Price unknown
Poor condition paperback
B+

This novel was originally written in 1799, revised for publication in 1803, mysteriously never published, sold back to Austen in 1816, and finally published posthumously (with Persuasion) by brother Henry the year after Jane's death.  Austen issued an "apology" to be published with the book, to explain that some of the story might be dated.  Little did she know that Gothic horror fiction was a long way from dying out, and I suspect that this novel is one of the reasons why Charlotte Brontë disliked Austen's writing.  Naive young Catherine Morland imagines that Gen. Tilney has either murdered or locked away his wife, and there was Brontë three decades after Austen's death giving Mr. Rochester a mad wife in the attic.  With Brontë's Romantic sensibilities, she wouldn't take kindly to Austen's parody.

I think the satire still works, but then I actually did slog my way through The Mysteries of Udolpho years ago.  More of the novel is a parody of the genteel romance that Fanny Burney and her ilk wrote, with Catherine decidedly not a heroine.  Austen mocks Catherine's looks and intelligence, but also makes it clear that Catherine is warm-hearted.  Also, because Catherine is so truthful herself, she doesn't understand why people like the Thorpes lie, which makes her very refreshing, particularly to Henry Tilney.  Mr. Tilney is probably number one on my "Austen hunks" list, because of his wit and imagination.  Yes, he says some borderline misogynist things, but I think they're meant to be teases of his earnest sister, and in fact he treats Catherine with more respect than most of the people around him do.

This apparently is as hard a novel to adapt as Mansfield Park.  The 1986 TV version is downright silly (one word, cartwheel), while the 2008 attempt makes the mistake of increasing the luridness.  Not only do we get Catherine's Gothic fantasies, but there's an implausible sexual element to the Capt. Tilney/ Isabella Thorpe romance.  Isabella in the book may've made some missteps, but she wouldn't have sacrificed her virginity in order to capture the captain.  She's a lot cagier than Lydia Bennet after all.

With its Bath setting, this story makes an interesting pair with Persuasion.  Also, the closing line, "...I leave it to be settled...whether the tendency of this work be altogether to recommend parental tyranny, or reward filial disobedience," applies equally well to Austen's last completed novel.