Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen

 Northanger Abbey is one of my favourite Jane Austen novels (aside from Sense and Sensibility which takes the biscuit), and I was so excited to re-read it in this beautiful Penguin Classics edition. This was Austen's first novel yet was published posthumously - in 1818 - and I love the cheeky, witty feel that the story has. It really contains everything I look for in a classic - elements of the Gothic, an unassuming heroine who makes mistakes like a real human being, a down-to-earth love interest, a spooky old manor house and some creaking staircases. Our young heroine, Catherine Morland, is just coming to the age where her parents would like to see her married off to a nice man with plenty of money, so they send her to Bath in the hope that she will return betrothed.

Whilst in Bath, Catherine meets some interesting characters - some rather unsavoury (cough, cough, John) - as well as the charming and brooding Henry Tilney and his sister, who invite her to visit their country estate Northanger Abbey where their widowed father will host the company. Catherine's affinity with Gothic literature, encouraged by her friend Isabella who proves to be not entirely the greatest influence, has encouraged our naive heroine to indulge herself in all sorts of ghastly and fantastical theories, which lead her into trouble at Northanger. This is really, in part, a cautionary tale about the risks of having an overly-active imagination and letting the stuff of novels infiltrate your reality (which, let's be realistic, we all do).

This is a funny, cringe-worthy and punchy novel which exhibits Austen's wit and ability to write social situations really really well. No matter how many times I read this, I always want there to be a kiss! Alas, we have to settle for a formal and restrained declaration of passion. In any case, this is highly recommended from me, and who doesn't love a blundering, awkward and overly-imaginative heroine?! The perfect ones are just boring.