Reviews with content warning for Toxic friendship - Northanger Abbey

Northanger Abbey is actually the first Austen book I’ve read, and I quite enjoyed it. It was just nice to read a book that isn’t too exiting or nerve-wrecking for once lmao.

This book follows Catherine who, after spending some time in Bath, falls in love with Henry but many stones are laid in their way in the course of the story. This novel was overall just relaxing to read which isn’t a bad thing inherently. In the conservations between Henry and Catherine that were really fun to read and made me chuckle a few times, they talk a bit about how non-fiction and fiction are viewed differently. It’s interesting how there are still people today thinking non-fiction is better/more intelligent than fiction.

The second part of the book was more interesting though where the finally go to the name giving Northanger Abbey that played a smaller part that I thought it would be. It was so fun to see how different the Abbey was from Catherine’s expectations. Everything is too normal for her taste that she even starts to imagine a murder

that never happened

. I read in one review that the book shows that the “real” monsters are the ones living among us aka people like the Thorpes. With this interpretation, I could enjoy the last part of the story even more.

Of course, you can see that the book is a child of its time. There’s a lot of misogyny and one instance of antisemitism. In general though, it was nice to read a book in this time period and thus learn what life for women was back then. Catherina was an interesting main character and towards the end, I really started feeling for her. Besides her, it was first a bit hard to keep up with all the characters introduced because many of them share the same surname. Furthermore, I find it really funny that even in books from 200 years ago, there are love triangles.

Northanger Abbey won’t be the last book by Austen that I’ll read. I of course have to read Pride and Prejudice one day, and I also want to watch the movie for Northanger Abbey since I can imagine the adaptation to be quite fun as well.

Content Warnings

soph22's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

diana_raquel's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

"The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid."

From the six major novels of Jane Austen, to me, this is the odd one. Maybe because it's one of her early works, this is a little rough around the edges.

The first time I read Northanger Abbey, I thought it was a little odd but it had some charm to it. Still, I thought that this one would become my least favorite book by Austen. By then, I already had read the other five major novels, so this one was the least favorite because it was odd.

Now that I've reread Austen several times, I still think this is the odd one but it isn't my least favorite (that "honor" belongs to the irritating thing also known as Mansfield Park). At least, this one isn't impregnated with irritating and boring characters. Well, I absolutely detest John and find Isabella irritating, but I'm supposed to feel that way. He's the villain, she's the "fake friend", you're not supposed to like them. But, in Mansfield Park, you're supposed to like the Crawfords.

But, comparisons to Mansfield Park aside, to me this isn't a bad book. It simply lacks some characteristics that you expect in an Austen novel. The love story isn't the great love affair that you see in other works, and the pacing is a little wonky- more than half of the book is set in Bath, and we spent very little time in Northanger Abbey. To me, this is more a coming of age story, not a love story.

But I actually liked the satire and the social commentary. And it is a fun book, just don't expect it to be a masterpiece. I actually think this is a good book to start reading Austen or classics. It is entertaining and easy to read. So if you're looking for an introduction to classics or to the regency period in literature, this is a great way to start.

Final note: If you want to watch an adaptation of this novel, I recommend the movie adaptation of 2007 starting Felicity Jones and JJ Feild. It's a very good, faithful, and charming adaptation of this coming of age story. Perfect for a rainy day!

Content Warnings

mattiedancer's review against another edition

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hopeful mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Writing: 5⭐️/5

As a Jane Austen fan, it’s hard to find a flaw with her writing. The flow of her prose is well crafted and many lines are truly stunning. Thoroughly enjoyed.

Characters: 4.75⭐️/5

The characters were fun and refreshing. I enjoy that Austen’s protagonists always feel different, and Catherine was no different. I enjoyed her ignorance to the world around her that felt perfectly in line with someone of her age and class. Reading about her misunderstandings felt fun – even funny or horrifying – and I loved watching her opinion of everyone around her grow and change. Her toxic friend, Isabella, even felt alive on the page. I could understand how someone like that could infiltrate Catherine’s life. My only grievance is General Tilney, whose character seemed rushed towards change at the end for a snag in the plot. I didn’t hate the flow of this story, simply wish his reaction had been slightly more aligned with a “gentleman” as he was so heavily painted to be.

Plot: 4.25⭐️/5

The small, humorous, and innocent misunderstandings that directed the plot in the majority of the novel are directly contrasted with the seriousness of the final misunderstanding in a way that brought the story to life. I loved the lower stakes drama being outshone by the high stakes clash in the final moments of the story. I did, however, wish that more care had been given to the final moments of the romance. I missed having a big moment reminiscent of Pride & Prejudice or Emma. For this reason, I felt a bit let down by the ending.

Who Should Read This Book?

Fans of Jane Austen
Fans of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Those looking for a fun classic novel with slight hints of romance
Those who love MC with an overactive imagination

Content Warnings?

Misogyny, sexism, classism, death of a parent, death, illness, toxic relationships, toxic friendships,

Post-Reading Rating: 3.5⭐️/5

I felt like the romance was a bit of a let down, which bothered my when I turned the final page. I had fun, but I went into it expecting a bit more of a romantic pinnacle that never really came.

Final Rating: 4.5⭐️/5

Content Warnings

cleotheo's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Content Warnings

naomi_k's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

kunma's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

TW: There's a scene in which someone is surrounded and physically stopped by other people to detain them from doing something, which is uncomfortable to read, especially if you suffered bullying or abuse.
I didn't expect this to be this good! I came into this book with zero expectations, thinking it would be as to my dislike as Emma was, but the story is really entertaining, the protagonist very innocent, not pretentious and warm, as well as most of her acquaintances, which made the book very pleasing.

Content Warnings

readwithbells's review against another edition

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5.0

Man I loved this. I do feel like you need to read Mysteries of Udolpho to fully enjoy all the jokes Austen is setting up but it’s also so charming on its own! Catherine is a *mood* the whole book, Isabella is a bitch (spoiler lol), and all the gothic references are too much fun. I’m so glad this was my first introduction to Austen, I’m off to binge all her books and become a full Austen ✨girlie✨.

Also I love the very real patriarchal evil that doesn’t have to be a gothic villain like Montoni to be horrible.

Read for Romantic Period Gothic Revolution.

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