Northanger Abbey (Barnes & Noble Classics)

The one she wrote first got published last. Northager Abbey is many people's favorite Austen since it's the great turning point away from Gothic. The heroine is frightened when visiting her boyfriend's family's home. He ridicules her terror about a, well, Murder Room, and as it turns out, the heroine is right: the boyfriend's father has rejected her as in his own mind too...more

The one she wrote first got published last. Northager Abbey is many people's favorite Austen since it's the great turning point away from Gothic. The heroine is frightened when visiting her boyfriend's family's home. He ridicules her terror about a, well, Murder Room, and as it turns out, the heroine is right: the boyfriend's father has rejected her as in his own mind too financially poor.   hide

I didn't like it as much as Emma or Pride and Prejudice, but it still shows Austen's wit and keen eye for character. I love her little jabs at society.

This was just not what I expected. I've talked to people who love this book, but the main character just bothered me. She didn't seem as strong as other Austen women.

This was an endurance test. One of Austen's first books but published posthumously I think...it really was a bit silly and trite for my tastes and Ms Austen was clearly not at the height of her powers here.