Northanger Abbey (Norton Critical Editions)
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.61 (970 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0393978508 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 384 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2015-12-18 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
"Absolutely delightful" according to Daniel Jolley. I approached this book somewhat warily, knowing that Northanger Abbey was to some degree a satirical take on the immense popularity of Gothic romances such as Ann Radcliffe's The Mysteries of Udolpho, a book I dearly love. Happily, Austen's means of poking fun at Gothic horror literature are far from mean-spirited and, as a matter of fact, can be delightfully humorous indeed. Her heroine, Catherine Morland, is by no means the type of heroine to be found in the giant tomes of Radcliffe and her indulgent imitators, as A. A Customer said A hilarious sendup of the Gothic novel. I used to love Gothic novels. I collected out-of-print Victoria Holt paperbacks, I had stuffed animals named after characters in Charlotte and Emily Bronte novels, but ever since I've read Northanger Abbey, I can't read a Gothic novel with a straight face. Jane Austen does a marvelous job of sending up convoluted scary novels (and melodrama in general) in this book, and creates her most masculine and fascinating hero, Henry Tilney.Don't think that Catherine Morland, the heroine, is just a naive kid. Her naivete is a n. "Charming Demeanor, Wickedly Funny" according to Emily Snyder. " "I see what you think of me," said he gravely--"I shall make but a poor figure in your journal tomorrow.""My journal!""Yes, I know exactly what you will say: Friday, went to the Lower Rooms; wore my sprigged muslin robe with blue trimmings--plain black shoes--appeared to much advantage; but was strangely harassed by a queer, half-witted man, who would make me dance with him, and distressed me by his nonsense.""Indeed I shall say no such thing.""Shall I tell you what you ought to say?""If you please.""I danced with a
Consider Austen's introduction of her heroine: we are told on the very first page that "no one who had ever seen Catherine Morland in her infancy, would have supposed her born to be an heroine." The author goes on to explain that Miss Morland's father is a clergyman with "a considerable independence, besides two good livings--and he was not in the least addicted to locking up his daughters." Furthermore, her mother does not die giving birth to her, and Catherine herself, far from engaging in "the more heroic enjoyments of infancy, nursing a dormouse, feeding a canary-bird, or watering a rose-bush" vastly prefers playing cricket with her brothers to any girlish pastimes. Decrepit castles, locked rooms, mysterious chests, cryptic notes, and tyrannical fathers all figure into Northanger Abbey, but with a decidedly satirical twist. --Alix Wilber. While there she meets Henry Tilney and his sister Eleanor, who invite her to visit their family e
Johnson, Lee Erickson, and Joseph Litvak. "Backgrounds" features material carefully chosen to enhance readers’ appreciation of the novel, including biographical commentary, early works and correspondence related to Northanger Abbey, and excerpts by Ann Radcliffe, Frances Burney, and William Wordsworth, among others, tracing Austen’s connection to her Romantic contemporaries. A Chronology and Selected Bibliography are also included.. "Criticism" collects thirteen assessments of Northanger Abbey from a wide range of voices and periods, including essays by Margaret Oliphant and Rebecca West and critics Patricia Meyer Spacks, Claudia L.