With much book distractions, and a good helping of work, I have finally been able to finish reading "Northanger Abbey" by Jane Austen. I started reading this a couple of months ago, but I kept getting distracted by other books and plays I wanted to read. This weekend I finally was able to have the propensity to have a Jane Austen holiday.
With my cup of tea and high waisted gown I dived into an Austen story that is pretty much like all her other tales of social class, acquaintances, and finding a husband. This short novel is about a young lady named Catherine Morland who comes from a middle class family, and sets off to Bath with her friends the Allens. While in Bath, Catherine meets Isabella Thrope, a young lady from middle class but more of a social climber. Their adventure in Bath consists of going to dances, taking walks, riding in curricles with Isabella's brother John, and visiting the Pump Room for the medicinal waters. The highlight of the trip is when Catherine meets Henry and Eleanor Tilney, who are considered a well-to-do family. As you can guess Catherine becomes best friends with Eleanor, and is enraptured by her brother Henry.
The Tilneys invite Catherine to stay with them for awhile after she leaves Bath at their big, grand mansion home named Northanger Abbey. While at the Abbey Catherine becomes closer to Henry and discovers her beloved friend Isbella isn't the kind of friend she thought she was. The Thrope family is mainly behind any trouble or grief thrust upon Catherine... I won't say how, you will have to read the book to see. I will say though that the story does end happy for all the characters.
Northanger Abbey was one of Austen's earliest stories but it wasn't published until after her death, and the popularity of "Pride and Prejudice" and "Emma". You can tell Austen was just starting to spread her wings in writing within these pages, with remarks about polite society and the sometimes unsentimental view towards marriage.
There is an interesting article with more background about Northanger Abbey at http://www.online-literature.com/austen/northanger.
For any Jane Austen fan I would suggest this book just to enjoy what her pre-Pride and Prejudice style was like. But if you are not fan of Austen, and tales of 18th century England bore you I would search for another gothic romance.
I was just kidding about the high waisted dress, my posture is now way good enough to be able to sit lady like in one of those things.
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