Author: Jane Austen / Year: 1775 — 1817 / Genre: Romance, GothicJane Austen’s first novel, Northanger Abbey—published posthumously in 1818tells the story of Catherine Morland and her dangerously sweet nature, innocence, and sometime self-elusion. Though Austen’s fallible heroine is repeatedly drawn into scrapes while vacationing at Bath and during her subsequent visit to Northanger Abbey, Catherine eventually riumphs, blossoming into a discerning woman who learns truths about love, life, and the heady power of literature. The satirical Northanger Abbey pokes fun at the gothic novel while earnestly emphasizing caution to the female sex.
