Résumé
Résumé de Northanger Abbey
À qui s’adresse-t-il ?
For readers who enjoy light, witty comedy, a young heroine who grows up, and playful talk about books themselves. It is a good first step into Austen.
De quoi parle ce livre ?
Northanger Abbey is a short comic novel by Jane Austen. She wrote it around the end of the 1790s, sold it to a publisher in 1803, and saw it sit unprinted. It appeared only after her death in 1817, bound together with Persuasion. It is her first finished novel, and it laughs gently at the fashion of her youth, the Gothic tale of haunted castles, locked rooms and villains in black.
The heroine is Catherine Morland, a country clergyman's daughter of seventeen. She has read too many frightening novels and expects life to behave like them. She is taken to the fashionable town of Bath, and later to a great old house, and in both places she must learn the difference between a story and the world. The book gives you romance, sharp social comedy and a narrator who talks to you directly and with a smile.
As you listen, you will meet a girl who is honest, eager and often wrong. You will also meet people who are far more dangerous than any ghost, because they lie about money, friendship and love. Let us begin with how Catherine starts out, since the book begins by telling you she is not a heroine at all.
Dans ce résumé
- 1A plain girl is raised for adventureFree
- 2Bath opens the door to society
- 3Friends are not always what they claim
- 4Henry Tilney charms with wit and teasing
- 5A broken promise and a muddle of plans
- 6An invitation to the abbey of her dreams
- 7Imagination meets a very ordinary house
- 8The novel defends itself and its readers
- 9How the narrator plays with the reader
Point clé 1 sur 9
A plain girl is raised for adventure
The novel opens by announcing that Catherine Morland was never born to be a heroine. She grows up in the village of Fullerton, one of ten children of a kind and sensible clergyman and his busy wife. As a child she prefers cricket, baseball and rolling down the green slope behind the house to dolls and lessons. She is not a prodigy at music, drawing or anything else.
The narrator treats all this with mock sorrow. Catherine has no tragic secret, no cruel guardian, and no great beauty. Her father is not wicked and her mother has not died in childbirth, which is what a novel of the day would require. The joke is that real life is more ordinary than books, and Austen tells it with a straight face.
As Catherine reaches fifteen she improves a little. Her skin brightens, her figure fills out, and she begins to care about dress. At seventeen she is pleasant, open and rather ignorant of the world. She has also found something that excites her, which is reading.
She loves novels, and above all the Gothic kind. She longs for sliding panels, secret passages, ruined chapels and dark letters hidden in cabinets. Her favorite is The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe, a real and very popular book of the time. Austen does not sneer at the pleasure of reading it, but she shows what it does to a mind that has nothing else to measure by.
The set up is small and quiet. A neighbor couple, Mr and Mrs Allen, have no children and plan a trip to Bath for the season. They are kind and rather dull, and they agree to take Catherine along. Her parents, who trust everyone, let her go. With that, a girl who has never seen the world steps into it with a head full of invented dangers.
That’s 1 of 9 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Who’s who
- Catherine Morland
- A seventeen-year-old clergyman’s daughter, Catherine loves Gothic tales and enters Bath society under Mrs Allen’s care.
- Henry Tilney
- A witty young clergyman, Henry attracts Catherine with his teasing conversation and shares a close bond with Eleanor.
- Eleanor Tilney
- Henry’s gentle sister, Eleanor offers Catherine sincere friendship while living under their commanding father’s authority.
- General Tilney
- The commanding father of Henry and Eleanor, General Tilney values wealth, rank, and impressive displays of hospitality.
- Isabella Thorpe
- A lively young woman, Isabella quickly befriends Catherine, shares her reading tastes, and attracts James Morland’s affection.
- John Thorpe
- Isabella’s boastful brother and James’s friend, John seeks Catherine’s attention while talking endlessly about horses and carriages.
- James Morland
- Catherine’s affectionate brother, James studies at Oxford, befriends John Thorpe, and takes an interest in Isabella.
- Mrs Allen
- Catherine’s kindly neighbor and companion in Bath, Mrs Allen pays more attention to clothes than social guidance.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 78,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 5 h 15 min
- Listening time8 h 40 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary; paperback, hardcover and large print at cost
- LanguagesEnglish and 12 other languages
Questions about Northanger Abbey
What is Northanger Abbey about?
It tells of Catherine Morland, a young woman who loves Gothic novels and is taken to Bath, then to a great country house. Her imagination clashes with real people, and she learns to judge character and truth.
Is Northanger Abbey a parody?
Yes, in part. Austen plays with the Gothic novels popular in her youth, such as The Mysteries of Udolpho. She borrows their haunted houses and villains, then shows how real life is quite different.
When was Northanger Abbey written and published?
Austen wrote it near the end of the 1790s and sold it in 1803, but it stayed unprinted. It was published after her death in 1817, together with Persuasion.
Is Northanger Abbey hard to read?
It is one of Austen's easiest books. It is short, the plot is simple, and the humor is clear. The story is not hard to follow.
What is the main message of Northanger Abbey?
The book shows that good judgment comes from observing real people, not from fiction alone. It also warns against flattery and greed, praises honest friendship, and defends the value of novels.