LoveReading Says
Full to the brim with ready wit and arch social commentary, this amusing and intelligent book is as relevant today as it was when published nearly 200 years ago. If you haven't previously read any of Austen’s works, this is the perfect place to start, it’s one of her lesser known but more stimulating and provocative novels. Quite literally a book of two halves, we have a story of a young woman learning the difference between reality and fantasy and then a consummate commentary from the author on the literary world at the time.
Austen introduces an almost anti-heroine, a kind, caring but not particularly captivating Catherine, then surrounds her with four fascinatingly different characters who range from compassionate, intelligent and gracious to self obsessed, mercenary and petulant. As well as the engaging story, you also discover an author who appears to be somewhat on the warpath. She actually talks to you from the page, her views are so clear, you could be having a face-to-face discussion with her. If you already know Northanger Abbey, reacquaint yourself with this fascinating novel. This actual edition is charming, a perfect size for the hand bag and one to treasure. It also has an interesting Introduction by Val McDermid who has just recently, with approval from the Austen Society, published a terrifically good reimagining in a contemporary setting of Northanger Abbey.
LoveReading
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Northanger Abbey Synopsis
Published for the first time in flipback - the new, portable, stylish format that's taken Europe by storm.
'What have you been judging from... Dearest Miss Morland, what ideas have you been admitting?'
Young and impressionable, Catherine Morland has an over-active imagination. After falling for the sophisticated Henry Tilney during a stay at Bath, she is invited to stay at his family home, the sinister-sounding Northanger Abbey. There, influenced by lurid Gothic novels, she imagines darkness and intrigue at every corner. Catherine must learn to distinguish between fiction and reality if she is to find the path to true love.
Jane Austen's funniest, most optimistic novel is published for the first time in flipback classics - so now you can always carry an Austen in your pocket.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781444732542 |
| Publication date: |
10th November 2011 |
| Author: |
Jane Austen |
| Publisher: |
John Murray an imprint of John Murray Press |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
421 pages |
| Primary Genre |
Historical Fiction
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| Other Genres: |
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| Recommendations: |
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Jane Austen Press Reviews
'My favourite writer is Jane Austen and I've read all her books so many times I've lost count'
J K Rowling
'Thanks to her sharp wit and strong female characters, Jane Austen's literature is still utterly relevant ... She's not just a writer, she's a cult, a brand and a cultural touchstone'
STYLIST
About Jane Austen
Jane Austen was born on 16 December 1775 at Steventon near Basingstoke, the seventh child of the rector of the parish. She lived with her family at Steventon until they moved to Bath when her father retired in 1801. After his death in 1805, she moved around with her mother; in 1809, they settled in Chawton, near Alton, Hampshire. Here she remained, except for a few visits to London, until in May 1817 she moved to Winchester to be near her doctor. There she died on 18 July 1817.
As a girl Jane Austen wrote stories, including burlesques of popular romances. Her works were only published after much revision, four novels being published in her lifetime. These are Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814) and Emma (1816). Two other novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, were published posthumously in 1818 with a biographical notice by her brother, Henry Austen, the first formal announcement of her authorship. Persuasion was written in a race against failing health in 1815-16. She also left two earlier compositions, a short epistolary novel, Lady Susan, and an unfinished novel, The Watsons. At the time of her death, she was working on a new novel, Sanditon, a fragmentary draft of which survives.
Fellow novelist Katharine McMahon on Jane Austen...
I can't not choose her. And whichever I've read last is always my favourite. The nuance of emotion, the understanding of human nature revealed by Austen constantly delights me. When I reread Sense and Sensibility recently, for the first time Elinor came across as quite prissy and destined to marry a rather spineless husband. I wonder if that was intended?
More About Jane Austen
