First accepted by a publisher in 1803, Northanger Abbey was eventually published posthumously in 1818. In it Austen weaves a romance full of suspense and comedy around the heroine Catherine Morland”s first foray into society. The style of the novel is a unique hybrid; along the way Austen parodies the eighteenth-century novel of manners, the Gothic novel, and even the educational treatises of the time.
The second Broadview edition includes a revised introduction, notes, bibliography, and expanded appendices of background contextual materials.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
- The Novel’s History
The Importance of Reading to Jane Austen
How Austen’s Characters Read
The Modern Reader and Northanger Abbey
A Note on the Text
Jane Austen: A Brief Chronology
Title-Page, 1818 edition
Biographical Notice
Author’s Advertisement
Northanger Abbey
Appendix A: Jane Austen’s Correspondence with Crosby Publishing House
Appendix B: Jane Austen’s Private Family Correspondence
Appendix C: Examples of Jane Austen’s Reading
- Ann Radcliffe Romance of the Forest
- William Gilpin Observations on the Picturesque
- Sentimental Heroines
- Elizabeth Hervey Louisa
- Charlotte Smith Emmeline
- Helen Maria Williams Julia
Appendix D: Catherine Morland’s Reading Material
- Ann Radcliffe The Mysteries of Udolpho
Appendix E: Reviews of Northanger Abbey
- British Critic (March 1818)
- Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine (May 1818)
- Gentleman’s Magazine (July 1818)
- Quarterly Review (January 1821)
Appendix F: Map of Bath, circa 1800
Appendix G: Day Trips from Bath
Appendix H: Map of South West England, circa 1856
Appendix I: Frontispiece to the 1833 edition of Northanger Abbey
Appendix J: Horse-Drawn Transportation
- Chaise and Four
- Phaeton
- Curricle
- Gig
Works Cited/Recommended Reading
