Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey

I have now finished Northanger Abbey. It was funny in many parts, and the movie version was enjoyable. In general, I liked it, but probably not enough to read again. It was a different style that Austen's other books...instead of her usual romantic stories or tales of the human condition as seen through the eyes of a wise and witty narrator, this is sort of an attempt at a mystery/almost-thriller, or something of the sort.

I watched a movie version starring Felicity Jones which was very charming. If anyone has been hesitating to read this novel (which, if I recall correctly, is the least popular of her novels) I would still recommend seeing this movie based on its own merit. The novel itself is worthy of reading at least once, as it is a Jane Austen novel and overall enjoyable, short of the odd dip into mystery (and maybe other readers may like this part best of all, so if you were wondering whether to read it, do not be put off by my review), and of course, it has its lessons in morality, manners and the ways of people. I have not watched other versions of the movie and probably will not, but I was very happy with this version.

So far I have read (in the order of my preference) Pride and Prejudice (my favorite), Emma, Pursuasion, Lady Susan (a series of letters make up this novel, a suspenseful romance if ever there was one), Northanger Abbey, and Mansfield Park. I am currently reading Sense and Sensibility, which I'm enjoying a great deal as well.

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