Thorpe's son, John, is a friend of Catherine's older brother, James, at Oxford where they are both students and the two young men come to Bath where John is introduced to Catherine. Thorpe, whose daughter Isabella introduces Catherine to Ann Radcliffe's Gothic novel Mysteries of Udolpho the two quickly become friends. Soon she is introduced to a young gentleman, Henry Tilney, with whom she dances. Although a tomboy in her childhood, by the age of 17 she is 'in training for a heroine' and is fond of reading Gothic novels, 'provided they were all story and no reflection'.Ĭatherine is invited by the Allens (her wealthier neighbours in Fullerton) to accompany them to visit the city of Bath and partake in the winter season of balls, theatre and other social activities. Seventeen-year-old Catherine Morland is one of ten children of a country clergyman. How Catherine views the world has been distorted by her fondness for Gothic novels and an active imagination. The story concerns Catherine Morland, the naïve young protagonist, and her journey to a better understanding of herself and of the world around her. Northanger Abbey was completed in 1803, the first of Austen's novels completed in full, but was published posthumously in 1817 with Persuasion. Austen was also influenced by Charlotte Lennox's The Female Quixote. 'Northanger Abbey' is a coming-of-age novel and a satire of Gothic novels written by Jane Austen.

Northanger abbey series