From an intellectual standpoint, I'd read this book again, and recommend it on that basis(probably because I read it for a course). But if you want a good and consistent gothic tale with an ending as strong as the introduction, turn to Radcliffe for starters. Austen's book will give you other references worthy of checking out.
Three-and-a-half stars.
Catherine, the heroine, longs to fall madly in love, so she does so. She visits the house of a friend, coincidentally the sister of her beloved. Northanger Abbey, with its medieval architecture and labyrinthine corridors, inspires Catherine to envision ghostly presences, long-hidden secrets, and hideous crimes kept locked behind closed doors.
Of course, Catherine learns that reality is quite different from her grim imaginings. There are no mysteries inside the walls of Northanger Abbey. At the same time as she learns the truth about the abbey, Catherine discovers some realities of love. One is the realization that "true love" is less enigmatic than she had previously believed -- it springs from friendship and the belief that one will be loved in return.
A readable, funny, and wise tale from the always practical, delightful Austen.
I suppose that my largest frustration with this book is that - from the same woman who created incredible, vibrant heroines like Lizzie Bennett and Emma Woodhouse - we get an insipid and easy-to-walk-all-over girl like Catherine. This made no sense to me.
I spent the whole book trying desperately to figure out what there was to like about my main character. When I came up empty-handed...it was sorely disappointing.
My second problem with this novel was the completely ridiculous attempt to achieve a Jane Eyre-esque suspense. The big, old spooky house and the mean father cliches can only take a reader so far without a little plot behind them to beef it up and make it original.
I think that the reason I was so let down by this novel is because I read it last. I read all of Jane Austen's other novels before I got to Northanger Abbey...and I think that in the wake of Sense & Sensibility's greatness, Northanger Abbey just got blown out of the water.
Jane Austen die-hard's like myself should not miss this book. If for no other reason than to KNOW why they don't like it. So...read it...just don't go in with high expectations.