Cover of Northanger Abbey

Northanger Abbey

by Jane Austen

First published
1818
Reading level
Plain English
Price
Free

About the book

"Northanger Abbey" by Jane Austen is a coming-of-age novel and satire of Gothic fiction completed in 1799 and published posthumously in 1817. The story follows naïve seventeen-year-old Catherine Morland, whose active imagination and fondness for Gothic novels distort her view of reality. When she visits Bath and later stays at the mysterious Northanger Abbey, Catherine's romantic fantasies collide with everyday life, leading to misunderstandings and revelations. Through social entanglements and misjudgments, she must learn to distinguish fiction from reality.

  • England
  • Satire
  • Young women
  • Love stories
  • Gothic fiction
  • Horror tales

Updated September 2026. Public domain in the USA. Text and summary from Project Gutenberg eBook #121. Northanger Abbey on Wikipedia.

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