Northanger Abbey

Summary

"Northanger Abbey" is one of Jane Austen's earlier works, published posthumously in 1818. The novel is a coming-of-age story that follows the naive and imaginative Catherine Morland during her adventures in Bath and, later, at the eponymous Northanger Abbey. While the book embraces elements of the Gothic novel—a popular genre of its time—it also satirizes the genre's excesses and the naivety of its young heroine. Themes of social class, wealth, and morality are explored against a backdrop of Regency England manners and mores.