Northanger Abbey is a coming-of-age novel known as Jane Austen’s Gothic Parody. Completed in 1803, the first of Austen's novels, but was published posthumously in 1817 with Persuasion. The story concerns Catherine Morland, the naïve young girl who lives an unremarkable life with her parents and 9 siblings. On holiday in Bath, she falls in love with one Henry Tilney who invites her to visit him at Northanger Abbey, his family estate.<br/><br/>There, Catherine, who is an avid reader of Gothic thrillers, finds herself filled with suspicions about the shadowy mansion. Austen includes cryptic notes, old mysterious chests, locked doors, and a frighteningly tyrannical father to set the stage for her satirical twist on the genre. Her suspicions run wild about every aspect of time with Henry. Is he trustworthy? What really happened to his mother? Has she stumbled into some scary conspiracy? A lighthearted and very entertaining commentary on love and relationships, Henry helps her understand how to navigate the world and discern between life and art.