Loving Miss Tilney by Heather Moll - Excerpt and Giveaway

Today Heather Moll is dropping by with an excerpt from her new Austenesque novel. I am always especially pleased when an Austenesque book isn’t Pride & Prejudice-inspired, as although that’s my favourite Austen book, most JAFF is based on P&P so it makes a nice change to have one that comes from another story. As you may well have guessed from the title, Loving Miss Tilney has its roots in Northanger Abbey.

I’ve been lucky enough to read this book already, and I’ll share my review with you in the next few days.

Let’s look at the blurb and then I’ll hand over to Heather Moll for an excerpt of the book. Heather has also brought a worldwide giveaway with her!

Book Description

She’s forbidden to wed a nobody. He’s nothing in society’s eyes. Will their desperate schemes backfire before they find a way to be together?

Northanger Abbey. Eleanor Tilney can’t bear her lonely life any longer. Distraught when her tyrannical father throws her friend out of the house because the girl lacks an inheritance, the long-suffering general’s daughter decides anything is better than a future all alone. So in a frantic bid for freedom, she puts aside her tender feelings for a man of no standing to pursue a wealthy husband.

Philip Brampton understands that fortune is against him. And he tries gallantly to bury his distress and support his lonely beloved, even after she starts pursuing an arrogant buffoon. But when he catches the fellow about to kiss her, their resulting harsh words cause a heartbreaking rift.

Stiffening her spine in a world that refuses to acknowledge her value, Eleanor attempts to navigate the impossible situation without quashing her desires. And though his shy nature abhors a scene, Philip braces himself for a confrontation with her cruel and abusive patriarch.

Do these childhood sweethearts have any hope of achieving lasting happiness?

The Late Mrs. Willoughby by Claudia Gray - Review

Today the blog tour for Claudia Gray’s The Late Mrs. Willoughby stops by for my review. Let me share the blurb with you, and then I’ll tell you what I thought of the story.

Book Description

The suspenseful sequel to The Murder of Mr. Wickham, which sees Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney reunited, and with another mystery to solve: the dreadful poisoning of the scoundrel Willoughby's new wife.

Catherine and Henry Tilney of Northanger Abbey are not entirely pleased to be sending their eligible young daughter Juliet out into the world again: the last house party she attended, at the home of the Knightleys, involved a murder—which Juliet helped solve. Particularly concerning is that she intends to visit her new friend Marianne Brandon, who's returned home to Devonshire shrouded in fresh scandal—made more potent by the news that her former suitor, the rakish Mr. Willoughby, intends to take up residence at his local estate with his new bride.

Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley are thrilled that their eldest son, Jonathan—who, like his father, has not always been the most socially adept—has been invited to stay with his former schoolmate, John Willoughby. Jonathan himself is decidedly less taken with the notion of having to spend extended time under the roof of his old bully, but that all changes when he finds himself reunited with his fellow amateur sleuth, the radiant Miss Tilney. And when shortly thereafter, Willoughby's new wife—whom he married for her fortune—dies horribly at the party meant to welcome her to town.

With rumors flying and Marianne—known to be both unstable and previously jilted by the dead woman's newly made widower—under increased suspicion, Jonathan and Juliet must team up once more to uncover the murderer. But as they collect clues and close in on suspects, eerie incidents suggest that the killer may strike again, and that the pair are in far graver danger than they or their families could imagine.

Born to be a Heroine by Christine Combe - Except

Today I’m happy to be welcoming Christine Combe to the blog with her new book, Born to be a Heroine. You may recognise this as a Northanger Abbey reference, but this is a Pride & Prejudice variation. Let’s look at the blurb and then I’ll pass over to Christine for an excerpt from Born to be a Heroine. 

Book Description

When Elizabeth Bennet meets the new residents of Netherfield at Meryton’s monthly assembly, she does not expect to make a fast friend in the perpetually cheerful Catherine Morland -- nor does she expect the surprise of being asked to dance by the proud and haughty Mr. Darcy.

Fitzwilliam Darcy doesn’t care to dance unless he is particularly acquainted with his partner, so no one is more surprised than he when not only does he accept the challenge presented to him by Miss Morland, but he also asks the playful Miss Bennet for a dance as well.

Catherine Morland joined Mrs. Allen in accepting the invitation of Mr. Bingley, great nephew of Mr. Allen, to visit Netherfield for the simple pleasure of making new acquaintances and seeing a new place. She is most delighted to have found in Elizabeth Bennet and her elder sister Jane the kind of dependable friendship she found in Eleanor Tilney.

When an old nemesis of Darcy’s comes to town, trouble quickly brews in which both Elizabeth and Catherine become entangled. While one young lady battles the workings of her heart, the other is caught in a compromise which could damage her respectability in society. Each is forced to look deep inside herself to discover the strength that proves she was born to be a heroine.

* * *

Gentlemen of Gloucestershire by Michelle R Wood - Excerpt

Hi there everybody! I am pleased to be welcoming a new visitor to my blog today, Michelle R Wood. Michelle is is writing a sequel to Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey. Much as I love books based on Pride and Prejudice, Austen wrote some other wonderful books and it's so good to see some love going their way! The book Michelle is bringing with her today is called Gentlemen of Gloucestershire and she has brought an excerpt for us to enjoy. I'll share the blurb with you and then will hand over to Michelle to introduce the excerpt.

Book Description

Mrs. Catherine Tilney née Morland began her marriage to the Reverend Henry Tilney with every expectation of happiness. When a crisis emerges and her new family is put in danger, she must become the heroine she has been in training for all her life.

Gentlemen of Gloucestershire is a sequel to Northanger Abbey featuring dramatic scenarios, comic situations, witty banter, and hopefully wisdom gained through the evolving relationship of a young couple with plenty to learn about themselves and each other.

Blog Tour: Northfanger: A Gothic Austen Mash Up by Jayne Bamber

Today I’m happy to welcome Jayne Bamber back to the blog with her new book, Northfanger: A Gothic Austen Mash Up which sounds like a seasonally spooky read. Let’s look at the blurb, and then I will hand over to Jayne for an excerpt. There’s a rafflecopter link too, if you’d like to enter to win a copy!

Book Description

A campy, vampy fusion of Pride & Prejudice with Northanger Abbey...

Elizabeth Bennet and her cousin Catherine Morland travel into Kent to visit the recently married Collinses in the village of Hunsford, near the great estate of Rosings Park. Elizabeth anticipates that the visit will be very dull indeed, while Catherine believes adventure and romance await them there, just as in the gothic novels she adores.

Within a week, both women have their expectations subverted by the sudden arrival of a vampire into their midst. The ladies at the parsonage take flight, accompanied by the outraged Colonel Fitzwilliam, his outwitted cousin, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy – and an out-of-control fledgling vampire.

Proving herself indispensable during the undead Darcy debacle, Elizabeth becomes the heroine her cousin Catherine always knew she was – and enviously wishes to be herself – as she leads them to Bath in search of the wily Silas Bennet, an expert in all matters vampiric.

But amidst the hunt for Uncle Silas, other predators enter the fray, all in search of one very old man, and a very young vampire. In Bath they encounter the Tilneys, the Thorpes, and an array of familiar faces and vicious villains bent on wreaking bloody havoc, leading a merry band of misfits to take shelter in a place too spooky not to hold secrets of its own: Northanger Abbey.

Murder at Northanger Abbey by Shannon Winslow - Guest Post

Today I’m welcoming a first time visitor to the blog, Shannon Winslow. Although I haven’t had the pleasure of hosting Shannon previously, I’ve featured a Persuasion anthology that she contributed towards. Funnily enough, although most Austenesque books are based on Pride and Prejudice, Shannon’s latest book isn’t a P&P work either. Murder at Northanger Abbey is an NA sequel, which picks up after Austen’s books closes. As it says in Northanger Abbey, “There must be murder” and although Catherine only now expects to encounter murder in novels, it appears that just has she has learned to be sensible, she will be encountering it in real life too.

Let’s look at the blurb and then I will hand over to Shannon Winslow for a guest post.

Book Description

Sequel to Jane Austen’s Spoof on the Gothic Novel

Newly married to her beloved Henry, Catherine’s eyes are now open to the grownup pleasures of wedded life. Yet she still hasn’t quite given up her girlhood fascination with all things Gothic. When she first visited Northanger Abbey, she only imagined dreadful events had occurred there. This time the horror is all too real. There’s been a murder, and Henry has fallen under suspicion. Catherine is determined to clear her husband’s name, but at the same time, she’s afraid for her own safety, since there’s a very good chance the real murderer is still in the house.

This delightful sequel reprises the mischievous spirit of Austen’s original spoof on the Gothic novel, while giving Catherine a genuine murder mystery to unravel.

Guest Post from Shannon Winslow 

As Jane Austen’s earliest novel (first written, although last published), Northanger Abbey occupies a unique place in her canon. And it boasts a few unique features as well. For one thing, in it, Austen occasionally comes out from behind the narrator’s mask to address her readers directly, even sometimes using the words, “Dear reader…”

For the most overt example of what I’m talking about, I would direct you to chapter five, where Austen (referring to herself as “I”) launches into a protracted statement in defense of the novel as a literary form:

Catherine and Isabella… shut themselves up, to read novels together. Yes, novels; – for I will not adopt that ungenerous and impolitic custom so common with novel writers, of degrading by their contemptuous censure the very performances, to the number of which they are themselves adding – joining with their greatest enemies in bestowing the harshest epithets on such works, and scarcely ever permitting them to be read by their own heroine, who, if she accidentally take up a novel, is sure to turn over its insipid pages with disgust. Alas! If the heroine of one novel be not patronized by the heroine of another, from whom can she expect protection and regard? I cannot approve of it…

 As with much else in Northanger Abbey, Austen’s diatribe (of which this is only a fraction), was no doubt written more in tongue-in-cheek humor than as a serious complaint. In the final line of the book, Austen again shows herself, as she tells us directly that we readers must decide for ourselves the lesson to be learned from the tendency of this work.

 This technique – the author speaking directly to readers – was not uncommon at the time, but it’s long out of fashion now. In fact, were you as a writer to attempt such a thing today, or otherwise draw attention to your presence, your editor would probably shake her head, mark the offending phrase in red, and accuse you of “author intrusion.”

However, since my goal was to carry on in my Northanger Abbey sequel with the same playful tone and quirky style as the original, I thought I might just get away with it!

And so, dear reader, as you peruse Murder at Northanger Abbey, keep your eyes open for places, here and there, where your authoress breaks into the story – sometimes very obviously and sometimes less so. Here’s an example taken from the final chapter:

 …However, as this tale comes rapidly to a close, you will be wondering about Henry and Catherine. You will wish to be assured that they are also safe and well, to witness for yourself their early perfect happiness at Woodston restored, and to catch at least a glimpse of the years ahead.

Far be it from me to deprive the reader this satisfaction, although we must agree to be discreet. We must grant them a degree of privacy. After all, they are still essentially newlyweds. And yet I owe you this much…

 I trust you won’t consider this a spoiler, since I ALWAYS write a happy ending to my novels!

I’ve read that in certain circumstances – especially in works of satire or where the narrative voice is firmly tongue-in-cheek – author intrusions can contribute to the humor. I hope you agree because, believe me, I wrote Murder at Northanger Abbey with my tongue firmly in my cheek the whole time!

 * * *

Author Bio

Shannon Winslow says she was minding her own business - raising two sons and pursuing a very sensible career - when she was seduced by the writing bug a dozen years ago. Stirred by the novels of Jane Austen, she set out to produce more stories in the same vein, beginning with a sequel to her favorite, "Pride and Prejudice." "The Darcys of Pemberley" (published in August 2011) quickly became a best-seller, praised for being true to the original's characters and style. Several more Austen-inspired novels have followed. "Winslow is one of the few authors who can channel Austen's style of prose so well that I could not tell the two apart if I tried," reports one reviewer. A life-long resident of the Pacific Northwest, Ms. Winslow resides with her husband in the log home they built in the countryside south of Seattle, where she writes and paints in her studio facing Mt. Rainier.

You can connect with Shannon via her website, Facebook and Twitter.

Buy Links

Murder at Northanger Abbey is available to buy now in Paperback and Kindle.

• Amazon US • Amazon UK • Amazon CA • Add to Goodreads shelf

Note Regarding Comments: I love to read your comments, but a few blog visitors have reported difficulties in posting comments. If you can’t add your comment please contact me and I will add your comment for you :)

* * *

If you don’t want to miss any of my future posts, please subscribe:

Subscribe to Babblings of a Bookworm

If you'd like to be friends on Goodreads then please invite me - just say that you visit my blog when it asks why you'd like to be friends with me.

The Bride of Northanger by Diana Birchall - Blog Tour - Review

The blog tour for Diana Birchall's Northanger Abbey sequel, The Bride of Northanger, stops here today for my review of the book. I read Northanger Abbey a few years ago and would heartily recommend it. I was very interested to read this sequel, because so much Austenesque that I read is based on Pride & Prejudice and it's good to have a change. I have also read very few sequels of the stories, so I was intrigued to where Diana Birchall would take these characters. Let's look at the blurb, and then we will move on to what I thought of The Bride of Northanger.

Book Description

A happier heroine than Catherine Morland does not exist in England, for she is about to marry her beloved, the handsome, witty Henry Tilney. The night before the wedding, Henry reluctantly tells Catherine and her horrified parents a secret he has dreaded to share - that there is a terrible curse on his family and their home, Northanger Abbey. Henry is a clergyman, educated and rational, and after her year’s engagement Catherine is no longer the silly young girl who delighted in reading “horrid novels”; she has improved in both reading and rationality. This sensible young couple cannot believe curses are real...until a murder at the Abbey triggers events as horrid and Gothic as Jane Austen ever parodied - events that shake the young Tilneys’ certainties, but never their love for each other ...

Miss Price's Decision by Eliza Shearer - Blog Tour, Guest Post, Excerpt and Giveaway

I'm very happy to be welcoming Eliza Shearer back to the blog today. Eliza visited us previously with her book, Miss Darcy's Beaux, which focused on the sister of Pride & Prejudice's Mr Darcy, but also included characters from other Austen novels such as Persuasion and Mansfield Park. This latest book, Miss Price's Decision relates to Miss Susan Price, sister of Fanny Price from Mansfield Park. Both books are stand-alone, so you don't need to have read the first to dive into the second.

I am so happy that a book has been written featuring Mansfield Park characters. Firstly, because I like to see books other than P&P get some love, and secondly, I am particularly happy that Susan Price gets to be the main character, because I struggled to like Fanny Price when I read Mansfield Park until she went to Portsmouth, widened her views and became a more compassionate character, thanks to her appreciation of Susan's efforts to improve herself.

Like Miss Darcy's Beaux, Miss Price's Decision also features characters from other Austen novels, and Eliza Shearer has brought us an excerpt that gives us a peep at some of these characters. Let's look at the blurb and then I'll hand over to Eliza for a guest post and excerpt. She's also brought an ebook giveaway!

Book Description

Pretty, talented and hungry for adventure, young Susan Price is secretly thrilled when the poor health of Lady Bertram, her aunt and protector, forces a departure from sedate Mansfield Park. London and Bath offer a world of possibilities and new friendships, such as the Allens and Miss Moreland, or Mr Bingley and his mysterious friend, Mr Darcy. However, with momentous decisions on the horizon, new enemies that threaten her place in the Bertram household and an unexpected encounter from her Portsmouth past, will Susan's self-belief and unlikely allies be enough to secure her happiness?

Unexpected Friends & Relations by Jayne Bamber - Blog Tour - Guest Post, Excerpt and Giveaway

A few months ago I took part in Jayne Bamber's blog tour for Happier in Her Friends Than Relations, which featured characters from more of Austen's books than just Pride & Prejudice. When that book was released Jayne made it clear that there would be a sequel and I'm happy to tell you that this has now been released - Unexpected Friends & Relations. Jayne has popped in to visit us today with a guest post and giveaway, which is below.

I'll share the blurb with you and then hand over to Jayne. Just to warn you, though, that this book is a sequel; therefore the blurb and the excerpt could contain spoilers for book one and the guest post certainly does, so if you haven't read book one yet but would still like to enter the giveaway, scroll down quickly!

Book Description

Following their marriage and a cozy Christmas at Pemberley, Elizabeth & Fitzwilliam Darcy return to London with their family. As new dilemmas arise, the story shifts its focus to three of Austen’s beloved secondary characters, one of her less exalted heroines, a familiar villainess, and the fan-favorite original character Lady Rebecca.

Georgiana Darcy continues to suffer the consequences of her folly at Ramsgate, as well as the peril of following some well-intended but ill-advised counsel that jeopardizes her chance at true love.

Caroline Bingley, now unhappily married and desperate to salvage her position in society, takes on the arduous task of reforming her wild and willful young ward, though it’s anybody’s guess which of the two of them is in greater need of transformation.

Lady Rebecca Fitzwilliam travels to Surrey on a mission of mercy, but she and her cousin Emma embroil one another, and many familiar faces in in area, in a web of romantic entanglements from which not everyone will escape unscathed.

Mary Bennet struggles with matters of morality and self-discovery, attempting to find good in the world, as well as her own place in it, but must do so on her own terms, always tip-toeing around the dramas and difficulties of those she loves.

Amidst the complex maneuverings of a diverse and demanding family, an unexpected heiress emerges, and with her rise in station come all the glittering delights of the fashionable world, as wells as the challenge of navigating the uncharted territories of high society, extended family, and even her own heart.

After attaining a Happily Ever After, the Darcys retreat into the background as their friends and relations purse destinies of their own. Equal measures of mishap and miracle result in several alternately paired couples, while some stories are left to be resolved in Book Three, and a wide array of Austen characters will make an appearance in this tale of six unlikely heroines.

Nachtstürm Castle by Emily C A Snyder - Excerpt, Guest Post and Giveaway

As you know, I enjoy reading books inspired by the works of Jane Austen. I like what-ifs, where we explore another path, sequels, so we get MORE, alternate points of view and minor character stories. Most of the Austenesque reads out there are based on Pride & Prejudice. While this is my favourite of Austen's works, that doesn't mean that I don't like the others! Sometimes I like a change.

In my searches for books to add to my 'to be read' list based on Austen's other works I came across Nachtstürm Castle: A Gothic Austen Novel by Emily C A Snyder. This is a sequel to Northanger Abbey, which promises gothic excitement for Catherine Morland. When I looked it wasn't available on kindle and in paperback it was crazy expensive! I thought I'd never get an opportunity to read the book, but Emily has re-released it on kindle. She's visited us today with a post about the re-release and an international e-book giveaway. First I'll share the blurb with you, and then we'll hand over to Emily for a post about re-releasing her story. But as an aside, think how much Catherine would adore the exclamation marks in this book description from Amazon!

Book Description:

Moonlight! Castles! Ghosts! Storms! Secret trap doors! Suicide! Grave yards! Mistaken Identities! Carriage accidents! Gypsies! Hauntings! A kidnapping! Purloined letters! A duel! Swooning! Wild Pursuits! Demonic possession! A disputed inheritance! Three romances! A ransacking! Ancient curses! A stolen will and testament! Dank subterranean passageways!

Multi-talented Emily C. A. Snyder has managed to pack the above list (and more) into Nachtstürm Castle, a sophisticated Gothic fantasy sequel, taking up the further adventures of Henry and Catherine Tilney where our divine Miss Austen finished the last lines of Northanger Abbey.

- Jeffrey B Ward, Austenprose.com

The Last Adventure of the Scarlet Pimpernel by Jack Caldwell - Review and Giveaway

Today I have the pleasure of sharing my thoughts with you on Jack Caldwell's latest book, 'The Last Adventure of the Scarlet Pimpernel'. Not only that, but Mr Caldwell is very kindly offering an e-book giveaway to a commenter on this post. Read on for more details!

Henry Tilney’s Diary by Amanda Grange

Amanda Grange has written a whole range of these diaries, Austen’s stories from an alternate point of view. Following my recent read of 'Northanger Abbey', it seemed a good time to see what the book may have looked like from Henry Tilney’s point of view. I’ve read a few of these diaries before, the Captain Wentworth one, which was my introduction to JAFF (Jane Austen Fan Fiction) and I followed that up by reading the Mr Darcy one. I enjoyed them both, although I felt, particularly with the Darcy one, that his character hadn’t quite been captured. I was interested to see how Austen’s most amusing hero, Mr Tilney, had been represented.

The story begins when Henry is aged 16, so about 9 years or so before the events of 'Northanger Abbey', and the author builds a picture of the family. At this time, Mrs Tilney is still alive, beloved by all her children and very much the centre of the family, although she has spells of illness. Henry’s older brother, Frederick is extremely wild. He is his mother’s darling and his father’s exasperation, and his wild behaviour is given as the reason for the fact that he, the heir to the estate, was sent into the army. Frederick is feckless with his money, and believes himself to be in love, until a rude awakening makes him realise that the woman he thought he loved was only interested in finding herself as rich a husband as possible. Frederick takes this very hard, and drunkenly warns his brother away from love:

‘Poking me affectionately in the chest, he went on, in a slurred voice, “You’re a good man, Henry, a very good man. You’re not just my brother, you’re my best friend and I love you, I do. So I will tell you something, Henry. Now listen carefully. Come closer. Closer. Never give your heart to a woman. Never, never, never. Promise me. Promise me!’

Henry and his sister Eleanor are very close. Their relationship was so lovely, with plenty of affectionate banter, and a shared love of gothic novels, which they read together. I enjoyed seeing so much of Eleanor Tilney, because in Northanger Abbey she is a lovely character and I would have liked to have seen her get a bit more page time. Here they are discussing how Henry could become suitably villainous if he were to feature in one of these novels:

“I don’t suppose I can become a rake all at once, but I will take it in stages. I will begin by making a mildly scandalous remark to the Lowrys’ governess, perhaps commenting on her shapely ankles. I will make a similar small beginning on gambling, betting five shillings on whether or not it will rain on Saturday, and proceed from there.” Eleanor laughed and ran through into the walled garden, where we were sheltered from the wind. 

“You will never make a good villain,” she said. “You will have to resign yourself to being a hero.”

The theme of Henry being the hero goes throughout the novel; I thought it was wonderfully apt when you consider that Northanger Abbey opens with a discussion about Catherine’s suitability to be a heroine.

After Mrs Tilney’s death there is a break in the timeline, which picks up again a few months before the time that the Tilneys travel to Bath. Here we get the details of Eleanor’s forbidden romance, which was quite sweet. Henry approves of her choice:

‘I wondered how I felt about the idea of his becoming my brother-in-law. His gaze, as it fell on Eleanor, was rapt, and that was a point in his favour, for anyone who marries Eleanor must adore her to have my blessing.’

When we move on to Bath we have caught up to the point where the Tilneys meet with Catherine and so pick up with the opposite side of the story we already know from ‘Northanger Abbey’. There is quite a lot of Austen’s dialogue in this part, which I suppose is unavoidable, because the same scenes are being described. In NA, most of the best lines are Henry’s and here we are treated to his thoughts too.

‘Your heroine? Eleanor mouthed silently to me. 

I smiled, for Miss Morland certainly had all the hallmarks of a heroine. She was sweet and innocent and honest and loving. She had a great affection for her brother. She was, for the present at least, without a mother and under the care of her mother’s friend. And if she was not presently threatened by some cruel marquis, well she was young and there was still time!’

We also see Catherine’s visit to Northanger Abbey and the part that follows her return to Fullerton from Henry’s point of view, the argument with his father, but also some resolution for Captain Tilney’s story. I thought that part was really nicely done, because not only are reasons put forward for Frederick’s behaviour, but also we see him move on and get some closure.

As I said, I’ve read a couple of other books in this diaries series, but I thought this one was most successful in terms of capturing his voice and humour. I really enjoyed seeing the close relationship between Henry and his sister, seeing the possible back story for Captain Tilney and seeing some of Eleanor’s romance. If you are a fan of ‘Northanger Abbey’ I think you’d probably enjoy this book. I certainly did, it was the type of read where I kept finding myself smiling as I read along!

The only real downside I found with this book was the formatting. I read the kindle version and I wasn’t expecting any problems in this regard, as this is a book from a long-established publisher, but the formatting wasn't great, especially at the beginning. There are many spaces missing between words and line breaks in odd places. Thankfully, the missing spaces between the words was only at the beginning of the book because otherwise it'd be unreadable, but the line break problem happens throughout the book, almost as if it had been converted to kindle from a different format and the spacing not checked, not even on the first page. There were also instances of words being incorrect that seem to have been done by a spellchecker e.g. ‘deus ex machina’ was ‘deus ex machine’ etc. I was pretty unimpressed by this, I’d expect better from a publishing house. However, I am not going to let this affect my star rating, it gets a highly enjoyable 5 star rating from me.

Northanger Abbey 2007

After watching the 1980s version of ‘Northanger Abbey’ I wanted to re-watch this one, as it’s been a few years since I saw it. The 2007 version was scripted by Andrew Davies, who famously scripted ‘Pride & Prejudice’ 1995 and also the 1996 ‘Emma’, starring Kate Beckinsale, and the adaptation of ‘Sense & Sensibility’ from 2008.

We open in the same vein as the 1987 version of ‘Northanger Abbey’, with Catherine having a wild imagining brought on by her choice of reading material. There are a number of these throughout the film, the earlier ones are daydreams, but the majority of them are dreams and they are so funny, really endearingly silly. Catherine imagines swordfights, dungeons, abductions and even, daringly, some nudity (although the viewer doesn’t see anything that needs blurring out!).

Austen adaptation aficionados may well recognise Catherine’s neighbour, Mrs Allen, who she accompanies to Bath. The character is played by Sylvestra Le Touzel, who played Fanny Price in the 1983 version of ‘Mansfield Park’. I enjoyed her in the role, she was quite over the top and funny. Mrs Allen is quite an amusing role, I think, so it fitted well.  This one is muslin-obsessed!

This version isn’t exactly the same as the book. Catherine’s leap of imagination in respect of General Tilney here is somewhat explained because hints have been dropped by more than one person in relation to his behaviour to his wife. I was also a little sad to see a few key conversations weren’t included such as the conversation Henry and Catherine have while dancing where they talk about the similarities between dancing and marriage (not because of its significance to the story, but just because I like that bit!) and also the part where Henry points out to Catherine that it’s not the attention of other men to Miss Thorpe that is the problem, it’s the fact that she accepts them. I know Catherine dismisses this view, but it underlines Miss Thorpe’s character nicely for the reader. That being said, her character is perfectly clear to the viewer. I felt the 1987 version of Isabella lacked subtlety but this version is far, far better, and here the viewer is led to pity her too.

Like the 1987 version, the setting of Northanger Abbey is too gothic looking, rather than the disappointingly normal-looking building that Catherine finds. Although the interior of the building is dark and a little spooky, however, her behaviour when she is at Northanger is more in line with the book.

What makes this adaptation really stands out for me are the performances of the leads. Henry Tilney is played by J J Feild and he is entirely charming and lovely. The viewer can fall in love with him right along with Catherine! Although he teases her, it’s not done unkindly and she often teases him back, which puts them on an equal footing. Henry has nearly all the best lines in the script, and he delivers them really well. The conversation that Henry and Catherine have the first time they dance where he talks about the required discourse while dancing and finishes off with the line “Now I must give one smirk, and then we may be rational again.” was delivered so drolly, and accompanied by a very amusing over the top smirk that had me laughing along with Catherine!

Felicity Jones is fantastic as Catherine. Her performance is the best thing about a generally wonderful adaptation. She is sweetly naive and unsuspecting of the motives of the more worldly people that she meets. You can completely understand Henry’s teasing of her, because she reacts so adorably to it! One thing I liked about this version of Northanger Abbey is that it’s clear that Catherine is by no means unintelligent, she’s just so sheltered that she’s only ever met honest, straightforward people. Conversational subtext goes entirely over her head.

I think this might be my favourite adaptation of any of Austen’s works. The adaptation is entertaining and funny, the leads work well together and individually, and though some changes were made, in many cases this served to convey aspects of the book. I felt it was true to the spirit of the book. There was only one theme of the book that didn’t really translate for me, which was the defence of the novel found within the book, though since that’s the narrator making this argument it may have been tricky to convey without distracting from the main story. I would say that this version could be appreciated by people who haven’t read the book yet (although the book is wonderful and definitely worth reading) and I would heartily recommend it. A big fat five stars from me.

Northanger Abbey Adaptation – 1987

I had been putting off watching this adaptation for a while, because the only other version of Northanger Abbey that I’ve seen, the 2007 version, I really loved, so I thought this one would suffer by comparison. Also, the cover of the DVD put me off. Our hero, Henry Tilney, is supposed to be aged 24 but the actor playing him is a fair bit older, and Catherine’s hair looks like it’s had a tonne of hair mousse applied, so I wasn’t enticed. However, now I’m stuck in a chair recuperating it seems like a good time to tackle my ‘To Be Watched’ list.

This version of Northanger Abbey starts out with one of Catherine’s imaginings as she reads one of her lurid romances, so the gothic romance idea is introduced from the first and it’s very strong throughout the story. Some of her imaginings are ridiculous, while others are a bit disturbing. I don’t think the adaptation conveyed the right sense of these books being ridiculous and over the top, as the book is clearly poking fun at the genre. The setting was also a little disappointing in this regard. Northanger Abbey is pretty creepy here, which could fuel even a less active imagination, whereas it should be disappointingly comfortable and modern, thereby highlighting how absurd Catherine’s flight of fancy is. General Tilney is also more sinister in this adaptation than in the book.

The Thorpes, particularly Isabella Thorpe, are presented quite straightforwardly as who they are rather than more subtly which I thought was a missed opportunity as one of the things I liked about the novel is the juxtaposition of Catherine’s imagination seeing more than it should when there is no basis and her naivety causing her to miss a real life deception being played out in front of her eyes.

Peter Firth - Henry Tilney (L) / Colin Baker - Doctor Who (R)

As regards casting, this adaptation has Henry Tilney played by Peter Firth, who apparently is most famous for the ‘Spooks’ TV series (called ‘MI-5’ in some countries), but I thought I recognised him as Doctor Who from the Sci-fi series of the same name. The series is long running, and has different actors playing the title role. I thought Peter Firth was the Doctor back in the 1980s. Actually he didn’t play Doctor Who, I was mixing him up with Colin Baker, who was almost his doppelganger back in those days!

I wasn’t keen on him as Henry. He came across as really quite cold and humourless, and when you consider how funny some of Henry’s dialogue is that doesn’t seem right at all. I didn’t find him charming either, and I couldn’t really see what Catherine saw in him.

I quite liked Katheine Schlesigner’s portrayal of Catherine, though I don’t think Catherine’s extreme youth (she was only 17, remember) really came across, and since that is what excuses her behaviour such naivety is harder to comprehend. I also didn’t feel that the leads had much chemistry between them. You couldn’t really see what drew them to each other. The ending scene was so out of nowhere that I thought Catherine was imagining it!

Another thing about this adaptation that struck me was the background music, at times, was really bad, particularly during the gothic imaginings scenes. It was quite synthesised, and I think there was even a bit of saxophone at one point. It was just far too modern.

You may feel from reading all this that I didn’t enjoy the adaptation but you’d be wrong, because I enjoyed it despite all the above! It’s actually pretty amusing. If you’ve read the book you can fill in the gaps. If you hadn’t read the book already, I’m not sure somebody watching would get the joke. I think the main shame for me with this version, is that I thought it was almost like ‘Northanger Abbey Lite’. I know this is true of all adaptations, to an extent, as to get the story in full you’d be better off reading the book, but I felt that particularly with this adaptation, it didn’t do anything in much depth. I wouldn’t recommend it as an introduction to ‘Northanger Abbey’, you’d be better off reading the book (obviously!) but if you didn’t fancy starting with the book, start with the more recent adaptation, which I plan to watch next. This version gets 3 stars from me.

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

I first and last read this book probably about 20 years ago, when as a teenager I devoured Jane Austen’s stories one after the other. Some I loved, some I didn’t. Last year I re-read the one I liked the least, ‘Mansfield Park’ and I found that my reaction to the book was vastly different, which is unsurprising as I am very different to the person I was then, so I decided that I should give the other books I hadn’t re-read another go. I enjoyed 'Northanger Abbey' the first time I read it but it never became a favourite of mine, I think partly because the heroine, Catherine Morland, isn’t the sharpest tool in the box and I never gelled with her, but more because I wasn’t a big fan of Henry Tilney. I didn’t like the way he was always laughing at Catherine because at the time I felt that he was laughing at and not laughing with her. Also, I read it not long after ‘Pride & Prejudice’ and was afraid that they’d end up in 25 years in a relationship like Mr & Mrs Bennet! So I didn’t re-read it until now, and, of course, found that I should have re-read it much sooner because Austen is a delight!

This book, if you aren’t familiar with it, is a bit of a humorous dig at some of the gothic romances that were around at the time. The heroine, the naive Catherine Morland, drinks up these torrid tales and when she finds herself in a situation that could be interpreted in the light of the likely events of one of these novels she imagines all kinds of horrors. Meanwhile, she misses all kinds of hints of a real intrigue going on before her, the behaviour of some new friends that she becomes acquainted with in Bath, when she travels there in company with a rich neighbour of her family.

My teenage self didn’t give Catherine credit, and I was unfair there – she is a mere 17 years old when our story unfolds and she is unremarkable in lots of ways – she isn’t particularly clever or beautiful, but she is a nice girl with good principles. She is very naive in the ways of the more worldly people than herself and she’s unused to having to understand the subtext of a conversation because in Catherine’s experience people have always said what they meant rather than playing the game of society manners.

‘...but why he should say one thing so positively, and mean another all the while, was most unaccountable! How were people, at that rate, to be understood?’

Catherine’s main fault is a result of her reading matter – she’s been allowed to read what she likes and the result is that she favours reading some very lurid gothic novels without realising that they delineate some really unlikely events. The first few chapters of the novel are very heavily ironic on this very subject. I started highlighting the amusing parts on my kindle but I had to stop when I realised I would basically be highlighting the first few chapters in their entirety!

‘Her father was a clergyman, without being neglected, or poor, and a very respectable man, though his name was Richard – and he had never been handsome. He had a considerable independence besides two good livings – and he was not in the least addicted to locking up his daughters. Her mother was a woman of useful plain sense, with a good temper, and, what is more remarkable, with a good constitution. She had three sons before Catherine was born; and instead of dying in bringing the latter into the world, as anybody might expect, she still lived on.’

Henry Tilney is a most amusing hero, certainly the most amusing of Austen’s. He is fond of wordplay, obviously intelligent and not immune to flattery. I have seen people compare him to Elizabeth Bennet in his teasing observations and you can certainly see some similarities; they are both charming, although Elizabeth wants a partner in life who understands her teasing, and Henry is content with something less, though there is every likelihood that Catherine will come to understand it in time!

The Thorpes are interesting characters although deeply obnoxious – you see Isabella Thorpe reeling in the naive Morland siblings, and John Thorpe, her brother, is a wonderful character to read. He’d be horrible to spend time with, but I can find plenty of amusement in him on the page!  As ever, with Austen’s work, a lot of enjoyment comes in her prose style. There are so many quotable quotes, such as:

‘The person, be it gentlemen or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.’

And the novel itself unashamedly defends the work of novel writers, arguing that, although some novels are full of histrionic nonsense, some will also be of much higher calibre:

“And what are you reading, Miss — ?” “Oh! It is only a novel!” replies the young lady, while she lays down her book with affected indifference, or momentary shame. “It is only Cecilia, or Camilla, or Belinda”; or, in short, only some work in which the greatest powers of the mind are displayed, in which the most thorough knowledge of human nature, the happiest delineation of its varieties, the liveliest effusions of wit and humour, are conveyed to the world in the best–chosen language.

If you have never picked up 'Northanger Abbey', or haven’t read it in a long time, I suggest that you give it a go, and prepare to be amused. A 5 star read.