In her introduction to Northanger Abbey-part of Harvard's celebrated annotated Austen series-Susan Wolfson proposes that Austen's most underappreciated, most playful novel is about fiction itself and how it can take possession of everyday understandings. Wolfson's running commentary will engage new readers and delight scholars.
"Jane Austen lovers worldwide will cherish these books...Prepare yourself for a major treat."
-Christian Science Monitor
If adventures will not befall a young lady in her own village, she must seek them abroad (or in a good book).
Despite being the first novel she completed in full, Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey was published posthumously in 1817-a fitting fate for a story about late discoveries. Catherine Morland is Austen's youngest, most impressionable heroine, a connoisseur of Gothic novels with a tendency to confuse fact with fiction. This extraordinary, annotated edition will appeal to casual readers, "Friends of Jane," and everyone eager to fall under a great book's spell.
For beginners and experts alike-immerse yourself in Jane Austen's world: For the modern reader, our annotations provide clear explanations and illuminating context for period language and references. For the enthusiast, they offer fresh, exciting analysis-a passionate friend in the margins.
A work of art-the ideal gift: Perfect for gifting, collecting, and cherishing, this grand hardcover (9" x 9.5") brims with hundreds of full-color illustrations that vividly recreate Austen's Bath-its fashions, carriages, libraries, and estates.
The story: Seventeen-year-old Catherine Morland is dreamy, naïve, and fond of Gothic novels. Though a tomboy in her youth, she is "in training for a heroine" when we meet her. When she's invited to stay with the wealthy Allen family in Bath, her overactive imagination leads her to badly misinterpret events and places. As she learns to live outside the pages of her favorite books, Catherine matures and realizes her place in the world-finding true love in the process.
