Northanger Abbey

The satire of Gothic fiction, Northanger Abbey is twisted, thorny, and smart. But it’s never quite as dark as its protagonist, Catherine Moreland, expects it to be. After all, Catherine always has her nose in a Gothic novel, which means she imagines everything around her will be more dramatic and romantic than it ever is. Catherine is an average seventeen-year-old. She’s a sports-lover and an imaginative young woman—and she’s at the age when ladies of her era typically participate in courtship and marriage. But her dark filter on the world keeps getting in the way.

Northanger Abbey, published posthumously alongside Persuasion, was Jane Austen’s satirical response to the popular fiction of her day. This classic coming-of-age story is brimming with witty parody, over-the-top drama, and a nearly Shakespearean cast of characters.