The part where Catherine is exploring her room with the curious chests and cabinets had me laughing out loud. I love how Jane is using Ann Radcliffe’s the Mysteries of Udolpho so much, and I’m glad that I read it before this. The naivety of Catherine was something which irked, but also amused me. And the whole conflict between the Thorpes and Tilneys over Catherine was also amusing. I didn’t like how quickly things eloped at the end, and I’m sure it would have been fascinating to follow the exact events which happened after Catherine went home again.
This was one of the first books Jane wrote, although it was published after her death. And her latter works are definitely better. For me, it was the mocking of the gothic novel and especially Udolpho which made me like it. This book was April’s read in Line’s 1001 books reading challenge.
“The person, be it gentlemen or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.”
Jeg lo også da jeg leste den episoden hvor Catherine forsøker å finne ut av mysteriene. Alt i alt en fornøyelig bok, som du sier: måten Austen gjør narr av gotisk litteratur, men også satiren over mennesker og samfunn.
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Ah, Monika, du motiverer meg virkelig til å slite meg gjennom 500 sider Udolpho før jeg går i gang med Northanger Abbey. Det virker som om det er verdt slitet for å komme til den austenske belønning etterpå, som god dessert etter kjip middag.
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I read this when I was quite young, and didn't catch all the humour. It was much more enjoyable once I was familiar with the Gothic novel and could see how Austen was playing with those expectations. I found it quite funny.
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