I love Jane Austen, but this is one of my less favorite of her books. It is a spoof on the Gothic romance novel genre that was popular while Austen was writing her books. Catherine Moreland, a "heroine in training" visits Bath with family friends and receives an invitation to visit an abbey that belongs to Henry Tilney, her romantic interest. Since she is a big fan of the gothic novel, she expects the abbey to be exciting and imagines many dark and dramatic scenarios involving the Tilney family, which as you'd imagine is not very popular with the Tilney family. There is enough actual drama in the story without Catherine imagining more as she is pursued by two suitors, and her brother's fiance carries on a flirtation with Henry's dissolute older brother. Things turn out all right in the end.
Catherine has likeable moments; i.e. calling herself a "heroine in training" and being charmingly naive about improper behavior, but a lot of the time her imagination and gothic obsession make her a bit annoying. Northanger Abbey was Austen's first completed novel and in spite of many revisions before its publication, it shows that Austen was less experienced at the time and hadn't really developed her distinct humorous style. It's a quick easy read that is still probably worth the time, but if you're new to Austen, read a different book first.
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