Study notes: Northanger Abbey
Catherine Morland loves spooky novels. When she visits a real old abbey, she imagines secret crimes everywhere and gets into embarrassing trouble. Austen gently pokes fun at gothic fiction while telling a warm story about growing up and spotting false friends.
Themes
Imagination and reality. True and false friends. Growing up.
People to follow
Catherine Morland, Henry Tilney, Eleanor Tilney, Isabella Thorpe, and John Thorpe.
Talk about
- How do novels shape Catherine's ideas?
- Why are the Thorpes poor friends?
- Is Austen making fun of readers?
Public-domain text. First published in 1817; Jane Austen died in 1817, so this text is in the public domain in the US, Canada, the EU and India. Summary and notes written by ViralScopeHub.