Casual readers might not have gotten around to "Northanger Abbey" (the first of the two Austen novels that were published posthumously in 1817), but they're missing out on a very funny and sharp satire of Gothic literature. Catherine Morland, our not-quite-fearless heroine, is a young lady who loves reading Gothic novels and tends to think the world is much more dramatic than it really is as a result. When she is invited to spend a season with her family's wealthy neighbors, she is introduced into the world of polite society.
Catherine befriends several other young people, including the equally dramatic Isabella, her arrogant brother John, and Henry and Eleanor Tilney, a witty pair of siblings. After being invited to visit the Tilneys at their imposing family home, Catherine's imagination begins to run away from her again, leading her to finally mature and learn more about the world beyond her books.
"Northanger Abbey" is the only one of Austen's major works to not have at least one theatrical film adaptation. Its most notable adaptation is a 2007 TV movie starring Felicity Jones and JJ Feild.
