I went ahead and read through the fourth Jane Austen book, "Northanger Abbey," in my Easton Press set. I didn't realize it at the time I started it, but this one was actually published posthumously by Jane Austen's brother as she wasn't able to get it published during her lifetime. "Northanger Abbey" isn't the most well-loved of Austen's works, but it is still quite good fun.
I had only seen a film version of this novel once before and had never read it. I couldn't remember much about it, so I went into it relatively blind. The protagonist of the book, Catherine, comes from modest means. She is likeable, though, with good character and morals though she does let her imagination run away with her from time to time.
The copy I read from was gorgeous and had a couple dozen pictures in it. I always love it when books go the extra mile to give you more to look at. The words are enough - let's be honest. But presentation can really make reading a book a special treat. This one certainly did.
The book transitions the reader through several settings. It starts at Fullerton, where Catherine lives, and then transitions to Bath. They spend a number of weeks there, go to balls, socialize, go on walks, and so forth. She falls in love with a gentleman named Henry and is delighted to get invited to Northanger Abbey to visit with them. Catherine was an avid reader, including gothic novels, and the prospect of visiting an old abbey and in getting to spend more time with Henry was delightful for her.
While there, she begins to wonder about Henry and his sister's late mother, who had died suddenly there nine years before. Catherine also wonders about the relationship between the mother and General Tilney, who was their father. General Tilney was extremely cordial to Catherine but seemed disinterested in his late wife. Catherine's imagination got the best of her, and she was later encountered by Henry exploring parts the house she didn't belong in. Due to Henry's input, Catherine dismissed her speculations of wrongdoing at that point but was humiliated by the encounter. Henry, fortunately, didn't appear to hold it against her.
Later in the novel, General Tilney suddenly forces Catherine to leave Northanger Abbey and return home with very little notice and with no explanation. She does so but is devastated by the circumstances. Henry ends up visiting Catherine at her home and she learns that his father had believed her to have much more means than they had due to misinformation provided to him by John Thorpe, a previously rejected suitor of Catherine's. After the rejection, John told General Tilney that Catherine was poor, and that the family was trying to take advantage of those around them with better means. Henry wasn't deterred by her means and offered his hand in marriage to her even without his father's approval.
Catherine and Henry get married and presumably live happily ever after. This was a fun book and I'm glad I read it. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys period pieces from this time or that loves Jane Austen novels. I'll need to rewatch a film adaptation of this book soon.
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