Jane Austen

Northanger Abbey Jane Austen

Seventeen-year-old Catherine Morland is one of ten children of a rural clergyman. Although she was a tomboy in her childhood, at the age of 17 she is "in training to be a heroine" and she likes reading gothic novels too much. Catherine is invited by the Allen (her richest Fullerton neighbors) to accompany them to visit the city of Bath and participate in the winter season of dancing, theater and other social delights. She is soon introduced to a smart young man, Henry Tilney, with whom she dances and talks. Through Mrs. Allen's old school friend, Mrs. Thorpe, she meets her daughter Isabella, a lively and flirtatious young woman, and the two quickly become friends. Mrs. Thorpe's son John is also friends with Catherine's older brother James at Oxford, where they are both students. The Thorpes are unhappy with Catherine's friendship with the Tilneys, as they correctly perceive Henry as a rival for Catherine's affections, although Catherine is not at all interested in crude John Thorpe. Catherine attempts to maintain her friendships with both the Thorpes and the Tilneys, although John Thorpe continually attempts to sabotage her relationship with the Tilneys. This leads to several misunderstandings, which put Catherine in the awkward position of having to explain to the Tilneys.