Reviews

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

sftballgrl823's review against another edition

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4.0

This was enjoyable, though slow in parts. I enjoyed the fourth wall breaks and overall found it amusing.

shelled's review against another edition

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5.0

Such an underappreciated, humorous story.

bwag2003's review against another edition

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3.0

Northanger Abbey is a novel about a fairly regular young lady named Catherine Moreland, who is spending some time away from home with a family friend in Bath. Bath provides young women more exposure to court and allows them to make some connections so Catherine is nervous but also excited to get into the world. At first she is alone with only the family friends the Allens, but quickly she meets Isabella Thorpe through a connection of their brothers. They quickly become close and develop strong a strong bond. Catherine soon meets Henry Tinley and his family who are also enjoying bath for a season and is quickly taken with him.

This classic is a very lighthearted book following life for these people back in 1790. It is really interesting to watch interactions from so long ago that still happen in more updated ways today. There is still jokes, miscommunication, and drama played out through a different lens which is very fun to ride through.

Reading this book in 2024 is a little bit tough due to the language and sentence structure of the time. I read this with a book club and we made note that the average sentence length of this novel is ridiculously long. When Austen describes setting especially every sentence is seemingly a page long. I did really like the adjectives that are seemingly commonplace in the period. I love when they describe people as being very agreeable and similar terms.

Catherine is a little bit clueless at times and easily manipulated which as a reader is sometimes frustrating. Isabella is an odd character as well because she seems to genuinely care for Elizabeth in the first half of the book and then in the second seems to use her only to get to her brother. Henry is a surprisingly good man in the book in a time period where men were not always so nice. He is smart but not as overbearing as someone like John is.

Northanger abbey is a most agreeable book in many regards. It is enjoyable to watch Catherine go about her life dealing with the drama of close friends and of the time period. I personally wouldn't come back to this book but I am also not disappointed in it. Such is why it gets three stars from me.

girlthatsings's review against another edition

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3.0

Fascinating first novel from Austen.

arciz's review against another edition

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lighthearted relaxing slow-paced

3.5

zoeythekat's review against another edition

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4.0

Okay, I really, really, really enjoyed Northanger Abbey. I found it super entertaining: it's mysterious, funny, clever, and enjoyable. It was similar to the Jane Austen novels I have read thus far, but has some notable contrasts. There are some gothic elements, layered mysteries, and on occasion the author references the novel as a novel and herself as an author.

emilyakers11821's review against another edition

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5.0

Catharine decides to go on an extended trip to bath. There she meets Henry early on and instantly they enjoy each others company. But when he leaves for two weeks she becomes acquainted with new friends. She is constantly with them and they always want to spend time with her. This leads the brother to fancy her and want to spend solely time with her but she realizes she does not share those feelings. As she tries to become closer with Henry who comes back to bath with his sister. She cannot get away from John and his attempts to lead Henry away. It seems everyone is trying to lead her to do what is best for them while she continues to want to follow her own feelings without anyone getting in the way.

I loved this book. For how short it was so much was happening. But honestly John was so annoying and by the end of the book so was his sister. I’m glad Catharine wasn’t a push over like some of Jane Austens characters so she didn’t let them get away with everything. I really enjoyed hearing her reactions to the different situations she gets put into. Overall this was super fun and a good fast read. I continue to love all of Jane Austens books!

tonisut's review against another edition

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5.0

When I first read this, I was much younger and perhaps missed much of the irony and the wit. I reread this last year and found it witty and funny and quite enjoyable.

idawgsbooks's review against another edition

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4.0

I much prefer Pride and Prejudice, but this story was still good Jane Austen fun. The characters were a bit to hyperbolic for my taste, but not every hero/heroine can be Elizabeth Bennet! :)

helene_g's review against another edition

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4.0

I just love Jane Austin. This book was one of her early works and it gives a glimpse of the writer she would become. Overall it was very enjoyable.