Northanger Abbey

"It is only a novel... or, in short, only some work in which the greatest powers of the mind are displayed, in which the most thorough knowledge of human nature, the happiest delineation of its varieties, the liveliest effusions of wit and humour, are conveyed to the world in the best-chosen language"

â Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey

Northanger Abbey (1817) by Jane Austen offers a scornful mockery of the commercial aspects of marriage among the English gentry at the turn of the nineteenth century. It is the story of Catherine Morland, a simple and innocent girl who falls prey to the contemporary trend and craze for Gothic literature. The novel is a satire on Gothic novels, which were popular during the turn of the nineteenth century. Catherine is determined to see herself as the heroine of a dark and thrilling romance which leads to a series of interesting events in her life.