Northanger Abbey - My Favourite Adaptation

This one required absolutely nearly no thought from me in the slightest. As I have said Northanger Abbey is not a firm favourite of mine (book wise) but I do have a firm favourite when it comes to the TV adaptations and it is one of the few occasions where I would watch the DVD over reading the book.

Peter Firth as Henry Tilney

It is the version from 1986.

It is brilliant and had the whole gothicey-ness down to a T. Peter Firth does an excellent job in his portrayal of Henry Tilney - I think with some adaptations the characters come across as being a little too 'pretty' and clean cut. I don't mean that as a criticism at all, as compared to Bronte and Dickens and other authors of the time Jane Austen's writing is downright fluffy (on the surface of things anyway), and to convey this and to appeal to a new generation of viewers the way things are done and cast are bound to change.

Katharine Schlesinger as Catherine Morland

Sorry of on a tangent there.

But yes, when it comes to the 1986 version what tops it for me is the characters

My only issue with the latest adaptation of Northanger Abbey is that it seems to miss out so much Austen goodness and other character's story-lines in an effort to simplify things and fit it into a 2 hour slot. (ITV I love you for your Austen-i-ness but I am talking to YOU)

So there is my pennies worth on my favourite adaptation.

Northanger Abbey - My thoughts on Catherine Morland

Oh dear... here I go again.

So, although I enjoy Jane Austen (most of the time), Northanger Abbey is one of those books that I can't read without wanting to rip out pages.

Reason?

Catherine!!!

She is such a...a...NINNY!

Her actions have my emotions swinging from embarrassment to mortification at some of the stuff she gets up to and even anger at her stupidity.

I know that Jane Austen wrote Northanger Abbey as a way to poke some fun at the stereotypical gothic-horror-romance of the day but I cannnot help but wonder if she was trying to poke fingers at the irritatingly naive character of Catherine at the same time - I suppose I will have to read some of the novels mentioned in by Catherine and Isabelle to see if the female leads are like that in them. Or maybe she was saying that if you let your kid read these novels they will loose the ability to think with anything but their imagination and their brains will turn to mush...?

I haven't read any studies on Jane Austen's work (I will have to work on that) so I do not know exactly what the common thought is for what she was trying to say... (answers on a postcard if you know)

Anyway, back to Catherine.

Who goes nosying around someone else house? Especially when this someone isn't exactly someone who you have know for an extended period of time. Seriously, who in their right mind does that!!!! Some who is very rude I think! (Or if you are going to do that at least  wait until everyone else has been abducted by aliens and are too bust being experimented on to try and find you. Don't get yourself caught!)

I also find her to be quite insensitive in the way that she needs to know everything about EVERYTHING that is going on.

She is definitely not one of my favourite Austen heroines.

In fact, this is another Austen book where the supporting character are my favourite.

Mr and Mrs Allen are at the top of my 'people I like' list for this book.

Northanger Abbey - My Favourite Northanger Lines

No one who had ever seen Catherine Morland in her infancy would have supposed her born to be an heroine.

I love this line, although at the same time I can'r help but roll my eyes. It is like some epic fantasy were Fred the bakers boy who is beaten everyday, starved and sleeps behind the fireplace (so yeah, you don't expect him to be a hero) turns out to be Prince Unpronounceable Name from the land of Hey-We-Need-A-Forgotten-Heir.

Yes, I know exactly what you will say: Friday, went to the Lower Rooms; wore my sprigged muslin robe with blue trimmings -- plain black shoes -- appeared to much advantage; but was strangely harassed by a queer, half-witted man, who would make me dance with him, and distressed me by his nonsense.

One of the characteristics that I love about Henry is his lightheartedness when he first meets Catherine. Perfect big brother material I think.

Oh! I am delighted with the book! I should like to spend my whole life in reading it

And all of us bookworms scream 'Amen' at this point.

...beware how you give your heart...

Need I say more.

And by personal favourite regarding the 7 horrid novels of Northanger Abbey

...a particular friend of mine, a Miss Andrews, a sweet girl, one of the sweetest creatures in the world, has read every one of them. 

Hehe, that  make me giggle every time I read it.

Northanger Abbey - The Novels of Northanger (Part 2)

Welcome back to the Novels of Northanger everyone!

The Horrid Mysteries: A Story From the German Of The Marquis Of Grosse by Carl Grosse, and Peter Will

(no cover I'm afraid)
The hero of the tale, the Marquis of Grosse finds himself embroiled in a secret revolutionary society which advocates murder and mayhem in pursuit of an early form of communism. He creates a rival society to combat them and finds himself hopelessly trapped between the two antagonistic forces. The book has been both praised and lambasted for its lurid portrayal of sex, violence and barbarism.

The Necromancer, or The Tale of the Black Forest by Karl Friedrich Kahlert

"The hurricane was howling, the hailstones beating against windows, the hoarse croaking of the raven bidding adieu to autumn, and the weather-cock's dismal creaking joined with the mournful dirge of the solitary owl..."

"The Necromancer" consists of a series of interconnected stories, all centering on the enigmatic figure of Volkert the Necromancer. Filled with murder, ghosts, and dark magic, and featuring a delirious and dizzying plot that almost defies comprehension, "The Necromancer" is one of the strangest horror novels ever written.

The Orphan of the Rhine by Eleanor Sleath

(The only blurb I could find for this was a watered down telling of the book on Wikipedia and I don't want to ruin it for you all. Needleass to say there is drafty castles, elopements, evil gorgeous people...You know, the works ;))

The Midnight Bell by Francis Lathom

Young Alphonsus Cohenburg enters his mother's bedroom and finds her covered in blood. She tells him his uncle has murdered his father, and orders him to flee Cohenburg castle forever to save his own life

A disconsolate exile, Alphonsus wanders the earth seeking the means of survival, first as a soldier, then a miner, and finally as sacristan of a church, where he meets the beautiful Lauretta. They wed and establish a home together, and everything seems to promise them a happy future. But their domestic tranquillity is shattered, when a band of ruffians kidnaps the unfortunate Lauretta Alphonsus must solve the mystery of Lauretta's disappearance and the riddle of his mother's strange conduct. And when he hears that ghosts inhabit Cohenburg castle, tolling the great bell each night at midnight, the mystery only deepens....

The Italian by Ann Radcliffe

(again this isn't part of the official (if you like) 7 but it is mentioned)

From the first moment Vincentio di Vivaldi, a young nobleman, sets eyes on the veiled figure of Ellena, he is captivated by her enigmatic beauty and grace. But his haughty and manipulative mother is against the match and enlists the help of her confessor to come between them. Schedoni, previously a leading figure of the Inquisition, is a demonic, scheming monk with no qualms about the task, whether it entails abduction, torture—or even murder. The Italian secured Ann Radcliffe's position as the leading writer of Gothic romance of the age, for its atmosphere of supernatural and nightmarish horrors, combined with her evocation of sublime landscapes and chilling narrative.

And there we have it. I think some of these would make some smashing October reading don't you?  

If I have missed any of the novels mentioned in Northanger shout out and I will amend this ASAP, but I think I have got them as most are mentioned in the same passage of the novel.

"... but are they all horrid, are you sure they are all horrid?"

I think we are going to have to read them and find out.... 

Northanger Abbey - The Novels of Northanger (part 1)

One of the things that I like about Northanger Abbey is that our main female leads love to read the gothic novels that are available to them. I just love it. I mean it does annoy me how Catherine really does let her imagination run away with her and she was probably one of the reasons that parents didn't approve of their children reading novels and some frowned on it... But I am going off course here. 

So, the novels mentioned in Northanger Abbey -

The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe
(this book is not actually one of the 7 'horrid' novels mentioned by Isabella to Catherine but it is a book that they read)

Trapped in a gloomy medieval fortress, an orphaned heroine battles the devious schemes of her guardians as well as her own pensive visions and melancholy fancies....


The Castle of Wolfenbach: A German Story by Eliza Parsons

Matilda Weimar flees her lecherous and incestuous uncle and seeks refuge in the ancient Castle of Wolfenbach. Among the castle's abandoned chambers, Matilda will discover the horrifying mystery of the missing Countess of Wolfenbach. But when her uncle tracks her down, can she escape his despicable intentions?

Clermont by Regina Maria Roche

Clermont is the story of Madeline, a porcelain doll of a Gothic heroine, who lives in seclusion from society with her father, Clermont, whose past is shrouded in mystery. One stormy night, their solitude is interrupted by a benighted traveller, a Countess who turns out to be a friend from Clermont's past. 
Madeline goes to live with the Countess to receive her education, but her new idyllic life soon turns into a shocking nightmare. Ruffians attack the gentle Countess, and Madeline is assaulted in a gloomy crypt. And to make matters worse, a sinister stranger appears, threatening to reveal the bloody truth of Clermont's past unless Madeline marries him. Can she avoid the snares of her wily pursuers, solve the mystery of her father's past, and win the love of her dear De Sevignie? 

The Mysterious Warning by Eliza Parsons

The good old Count Renaud is dead, and his will makes the degenerate Rhodophil his heir, disinheriting his other son Ferdinand, who has married against his father's wishes. Rhodophil promises to share his new riches with his younger brother and his wife Claudina, but Ferdinand hears a mysterious voice from beyond the grave, warning him to flee his brother and his wife to save himself from sin and death!

Ferdinand obeys the supernatural warning and sets out to find fortune and adventure. In the course of his quest he will encounter a recluse in a ruined castle with a horrible secret, find himself captured and imprisoned by the Turkish army, and encounter one of Gothic literature's most depraved female characters, the monstrous Fatima. And if he survives all these dangers, Ferdinand must return to Renaud Castle to solve the mystery of the ghostly voice and uncover the terrible truth about his wife and his brother! 

I don't know about you guys but I am loving the sound of these. I supposes Counts back then are the same as Dukes today in fictions, there seems to be a surplus of them ;)

Northanger Abbery - Wishbone takes on Northanger Abbey!

I am back again with another shout out for Wishbone.

Out of the 6 novels by Jane Austen 2 of then have been televised for Wishbone. There was Furst Impressions (Pride and Prejudice) and now there is ...

Pup Fiction based on Northanger Abbey.

Like all of the Wishbone episodes there is a ink between what is happening with the kids in real life and the story that Wishbone with be telling the audience.

As we have already said through the different posts Catherine was a heavy reader of gothic romance. Could we call it the 'pulp' fiction of the day? Perhaps. And so to link the stories together one of the girls in the modern day has got into pulp thrillers. So I give you the link, a little shakey, but there it is. :)

You can find this episode floating around the web if you do a little googling :) *cough* YouTube *cough*

Northanger Abbey - Guest Review - Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

Many thanks to Alex from A Girl, Books and Other Things for sharing her thought on Northanger Abbey

A wonderfully entertaining coming-of-age story, Northanger Abbey is often referred to as Jane Austen’s “Gothic parody.” Decrepit castles, locked rooms, mysterious chests, cryptic notes, and tyrannical fathers give the story an uncanny air, but one with a decidedly satirical twist.

The story’s unlikely heroine is Catherine Morland, a remarkably innocent seventeen-year-old woman from a country parsonage. While spending a few weeks in Bath with a family friend, Catherine meets and falls in love with Henry Tilney, who invites her to visit his family estate, Northanger Abbey. Once there, Catherine, a great reader of Gothic thrillers, lets the shadowy atmosphere of the old mansion fill her mind with terrible suspicions. What is the mystery surrounding the death of Henry’s mother? Is the family concealing a terrible secret within the elegant rooms of the Abbey? Can she trust Henry, or is he part of an evil conspiracy? Catherine finds dreadful portents in the most prosaic events, until Henry persuades her to see the peril in confusing life with art.

The Deal:

Catherine Morland didn’t always look like she was going to be a heroine - her being rather tomboyish, one in a family with 10 children - but such was her path and, at the age of 17 she gets her chance for adventure when her neighbors, the Allens, invite her to go with them to Bath.

At first, things at Bath aren’t as fun as she expected, because she doesn’t really know anyone there, but she soon meets Henry Tilney, a kind young man with whom she becomes friendly.

My Thoughts:

I found Northanger Abbey to be a funny, silly, lighthearted story, it has the tone of a parody and it does poke a bit of fun at the Gothic stories that Catherine enjoys reading, but it’s not rude about it.

There are a few misunderstandings and all, but it’s all in good fun for the most part.

I did notice two things about this book: First, the voice of the narrator is felt heavily, almost as if this omnipresent narrator were a character also. Usually, when I’m reading a book in third person, I can get lost in the story but in Northanger Abbey I never stopped feeling like someone was telling me a story rather than me discovering it on my own.

And second, this feels like a younger book than any of the others I’ve read by Jane Austen. Both Catherine and Henry read very young; their mistakes are those of very young people. They are charming and nice but naïve in a way I don’t think many heroes and heroines in the Austen universe are.