Northanger Abbey (The Classic Collection)

This book seems to be someone's summarized version of Jane Austen's work. Each chapter appears to be shorter and has lost a lot of the descriptive language and detail from the original book. The cover is very pixilated, the text is probably a 12 or 14 point font that looks like something I can print from home. It also claims to have been printied in CA the same day I ordered it.Now I know why it was so inexpensive, yet still a complete waste of my money since I actually wanted to read the entire work of Jane Austen.

Nowhere in the description of this book is it mentioned that this version is abridged or rewritten. It is a fiasco of jumbled sentences and mangled grammar; none of which can be attributed to the glorious Jane Austen.It was tough to find Austen’s usual sarcastic, edgy heroine or hone in on the pithy social commentary that punctuates her novels. This version read insipid, hollow and left me wondering if J.A. actually wrote it. For the life of me, I cannot remember reading this during my school days so I have nothing to compare this to other than other reviewers. After checking them out, it’s clear this title has had LOTS of troubles since its publication, not the least of which is it’s very identity!All in all, I’ve had good experiences with Amazon Classics. This particular volume needs to have a new edition, as in completely revised and updated📚

17 year old Catherine Moreland enters into society with a splash at Bath, attracting the attentions of both Henry Tilney and John Thorpe. While Mr. Thorpe has a dashing carriage and set of horses and likes to go riding everywhere, Mr. Tilney likes reading the same kind of gothic romances that Miss Moreland does, and moreover lives at that most romantic sounding address - Northanger Abbey!Jane Austen is in her element as she slyly puts her tongue firmly in her cheek in this sendup of gothic romance. It is the first of her six great novels that she sold, but the last to be published. For some reason a publisher paid good money for the book, then did not print it - he had to be sued to return the manuscript!This handsome Kindle edition from Wisehouse Classics has beautiful clear typography and a clickable table of contents. It is an elegant addition to your reading collection and will bring hours of pleasure.

Hideous number of typos make it a difficult read. Before you can get into the rhythm of the paragraph, there is a typo to stumble over: heavily repeated run-on words possibly caused by careless editing for space constraints. Very dissappointing.

A bit hesitant to read this after watching the movie several years ago but ended up enjoying the novel far more than I expected. Quite liked Catherine Morland the heroine of the story, a young, sheltered lady but ultimately with her own code of honour and integrity. Henry Tilney was in my opinion the perfect hero for her character.My only quibble with the story over all, I wanted to know how the Thorpe family ultimately fared, particularly Isabelle whose actions very much aided the growth of Catherine as a character.For this edition there were a few typos but not enough to interrupt the flow of the novel.

Probably the least well known of Jane Austen's six major novels, Northanger Abbey is a delightful treat. Written as an affectionate satire of the Gothic novels of her day, the book reads as well as a satire of current romance and paranormal fiction. Catharine Moreland is an appealing, though young and naive heroine, Henry Tilney is a witty hero, and the narrative voice is brilliant and hilarious.I read this aloud with my fourteen-year old daughter, and we thoroughly enjoyed Catharine's youthful foibles and rejoiced in her growth and happy conclusion.The kindle special edition has illustrations from an early edition which I felt added pleasantly to the e-book reading experience.

I've been a fan of Jane Austen since middle school, however, it's been quite difficult for me to get past most of the beginnings of her works. Northanger Abbey isn't a title commonly heard of, but after my desperate need to collect all of Austen's works, I stumbled upon the vintage classics edition of this beautifully and wittily written book. From the beginning, this piece was a page-turner. I adored Catherine, the heroine of the book, as she is one of the most underrated Austen main characters. Not only does she have spunk, but she is very much a person who wants to do the right thing and be true to who she is. This storyline is very different but also very similar to the later works that Austen has written, in that it has a lot of wit and humor unlike most of the other works, however has a very similar setting and writing style. All in all, I adore this book and what makes it even more enjoyable is the beautifully illustrated jacket. I am a fan of this newly done series and am keen on getting all of her works in this vintage classics edition.

Northanger Abbey is like a juvenile attemptt to imitate Jane Austen's writing. The first half of the novel demonstrates the ridiculous aspects of Gothic novels: bizarre details in spooky places, and the book creates the amusing quirky characters that Austen is known for, but the impetuousness of the main character, Catherine, and the author's over reliance on sudden fortunes gained, along with the importance given to wealth, make the story less than believable. Still, it is a novel that will fuel the dreams of young girls who hope to find happiness ever after in marriage.

The novel, of course, is fantastic but this edition is really dreadful. I have read insurance documents with larger small print, it is unreadable and the overall size is A5, larger than a normal paperback. I would avoid and am returning. I'll probably go to an actual bookshop to find a copy I like, this was our second unsuccessful attempt.

Lovely novel.This edition has EXTREMELY SMALL PRINT. It’s all in the publisher’s name... “create space” They save a LOT of space.Disappointing. Forewarned- I won’t ever buy anything published by them again.Terrible shame as this is such a great work.

Apparently, this is the first book Jane Austin wrote, although it was never published in her lifetime. I can see why.I found the storyline to be unexciting. Apart from Isabella, the characters lack substance; the man with whom the heroine falls in love, comes across as pedantic and irritating. I can't get too bothered about whether "she gets her man" if I I don't think he's that special in the first place!That said, it was pleasant reading and there are times when the writing style is superb.So, I recommend this book if you like reading classics but it's not a patch on 'Pride and Prejudice'.

Even writing a week after finishing this one, I'm a little puzzled by it. The familiar Austen apparatus is all present and correct: Catherine, our good-natured heroine, visits Bath, commences an unspoken romance and negotiates her way through social difficulties to a satisfactory engagement. Interwoven is an overt defence of literature, leavened with a warning to be mindful of its influence, as Catherine's infatuation with horrific novels leads her into sensational fantasies. The prejudices and misunderstandings of real life are presented as potentially harsher still than her most Gothic imaginings. Honest Catherine grows convincingly from endearing naivety to brave dignity, snagging her Henry in the process, whilst those fixated on money find their obsession leads them into unhappiness.Still, all this did not form a well-focussed beam for me. The theme of ill-judged fantasising seemed to end long before the contrasting reality (if such was intended) reared its head; and with over half the book gone before the eponymous Abbey appeared, the book's project remains unclear to me. (In fairness, Austen didn't choose the title.) This seems the slightest Austen I've read so far - but of course still engaging and intriguing throughout.

Really enjoyed reading this book once again, having read it and did it for my English literature exams but at that stage in my life the book meant nothing to me and I did not understand it at all, but obviously though maturity and reading more books than I used to read at school, as I was more into music, I had no problem understanding the book this time round and really felt that I was Catherine in the book myself, it kept my page turning right to the very end, to the extent that I could not put it done and read right through the night and this morning until I finished it just now. Pity that was not the case when I was doing my English exams as I would have achieved better marks, but a really good book that most definitely brings you into each word and actually I felt that it was related in the same way as Downtown Abbey of today.A must book to read, DEFINITELY for all ages but obviously not the very young. Go on buy it or download it now and see if you will agree with my review lol

I haven't read this book for 50 years and I don't think the BBC have done an adaptation yet, so it was a joy to rediscover the sly wit and clever writing of Jane Austen as she affectionately mocks the ways of her world.Yes, the girl does get her man in the end, but it's the story that matters, not the ending. Enjoy!

I bought this when I decided to read Val McDermott's excellent modern version of Northanger Abbey, and read the two in parallel. My third Austen novel, and a good one (not as good as Pride & Prejudice, but a good deal better than Mansfield Park, IMHO). I had been looking for an annotated version of the novel, but couldn't find one. I suppose that there's a Sparknotes or something.

Had to return as font was too small to be enjoyable. Neither me nor my friend who it was bought for need glasses for reading. Abnormally small font. Very off-putting. Book felt poor quality. Cover design was nice though.

This is well written, sharp witted and full of genteel phrases conveying much observation and opinion but without redress to today's modern coarseness. If you like period dramas and Jane Austen's work in general, you will enjoy this. It is not too long and therefore a good novel to start if you are new to the genre.

Some people might say it isn't as exquisitely crafted as some of Jane Austen's book, and it does have occasional hints of undergraduate humour in place of her usually finely honed minimalist irony, but this remains one of my favourites. Catherine Morland is not a brazenly confident heroine like Eliza Bennet, but neither is she an infuriating wimp like Fanny Price, and there is a constant witty contrast between the Gothic melodramas of her imagination and the real social dramas that carry her along. Isabella and John Thorpe are characters I could point to on any street in the 21st century. I know Mr. Darcy is supposed to be one of literature's great romantic heroes, but give me Henry Tilney any day, a far more real and agreeable character, `if not quite handsome, very near to it,' amusing and gently mocking, too fond of keeping life smooth to take a stand against his unpleasant father until finally pushed over the brink, but then ready to stand on principle. I would say he is a character created by a woman who had brothers.

Whoever wrote this version of Northanger Abbey it most certainly was NOT Jane Austen. It doesn’t even deserve one star. I didn’t like the use of American expressions and sentences which did not make any sense. I would not recommend this book. Please make sure you order the genuine article.

When I read "Mum" and "Dad" I had my doubts about how this novel had been digitized, then whilst beginning to doubt my sanity I realised that many sentences were incomplete or mangled by the OCR or the word processor. I downloaded this version to make reading easier since my own ancient version has tiny print. A waste of time and a couple of quid.

This was my second attempt at reading this novel, the shortest written by Jane Austen. There were two main differences making me like this much more this time round. This Kindle book was much better formatted than the previous e-version, with proper paragraphing and a more attractive font. More importantly, I have since read and enjoyed Ann Radcliffe's Mysteries of Udolpho, which the heroine of Northanger Abbey has read and which influences her view of what she will encounter at the Abbey.This novel is very witty and comes across as very modern in its exploration of themes such as the battle of the sexes, jealousy and simple uncertainties and lack of confidence in life and relationships. The central character Catherine Morland is very sympathetic and believable. Her fears about the dramatic and terrible events she think have happened at the Abbey are humourously melodramatic and delightfully misplaced. The novel also contains a great defence of the novel as an art form. 5/5

This recording is complete and unabridged and comes on 7 CDs - 8hrs 17 mins. The sound quality is excellent and Juliet Stevenson's voice is ideal to listen to for long periods of time. Catherine Morland visits Bath with her neighbours, Mr and Mrs Allen. There she becomes friendly with the Thorpes - Isabella and John. Isabella and Catherine and both keen readers of Gothic novels and love discussing them. The novel pokes fun at the genre and constantly highlights the difference between Catherine and the heroines of such novels.When Catherine meets Henry and Eleanor Tilney the reader/listener soon sees the difference between them and the Thorpes. I found the differences between the two brothers and sisters became much more pronounced when listening to the book rather than reading it myself and the recording brought out nuances I had previously not appreciated. I laughed over some of the scenes and I cried over some towards the end. I had forgotten how very good this novel is. It has a lighter touch than all of Austen's other work - except perhaps `Pride and Prejudice'. I loved it and will be listening to it again before too long.

I read this book many years ago at school. I have read it again recently and appreciated its humour more than I did as a schoolgirl. It may not be everybody's cup of tea, but I am lover of Jane Austen 's writing and thoroughly enjoyed it.