Carrie Bebris - North by Northanger

Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates
Author: Carrie Bebris
Title: North by Northanger

I do wonder if Jane Austen has spawned more derivatives than any author.  I certainly come across more of them. Such books have familiar characters you can latch on to immediately.  The rest is in the hands of the author, how successfully they are able to carry the illusion of a story taken forward.  Many fail miserably.  They make a hash of beloved characters and take the story into unbelievable places. Carrie Bebris, thankfully, does no such thing.

Mr. and Mrs. Darcy, Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth, are still happily married a year after we left them in our beloved book.  They are expecting their first child.  On their way back from visiting Jane and Bath they are asked by Fredrick Tilney to stop by and visit them in Northanger Abbey as he wishes to reminiscence with them about friendship between their mothers, Anne Darcy and Helen Tilney. Mystified but curious, the Darcys agree.  What follows is deceit, false accusations, loss of family heirlooms, unfair imprisonment and discovery of a beautiful friendship through letters.

The story draws you in immediately.  The best part, in my opinion, is the very apt and beautiful quote at the head of each chapter taken from Jane Austen's correspondence with her sister Cassandra and also her various books. Sample these:

My hearing nothing of you makes me apprehensive that you, your fellow travellers and all your effects, might be seized by the bailiffs...
                                              Jane Austen, letter to Cassandra

I do not want people to be very agreeable, as it saves me the trouble of liking them a great deal.
                                               Jane Austen, letter to Cassandra

Pictures of perfection, as you know, make me sick and wicked.
                                               Jane Austen, letter to Fanny Knight

These series go by the name of Mr. & Mrs. Darcy mystery.  Mr. Darcy, in this novel, does the footwork; Visiting places and gleaning information, chasing and apprehending criminals. Elizabeth gathers information, reads clues and figures out the mystery. Oh, she also gives birth to a baby.

The only thing that annoyed me a bit towards the end, was the sudden popping in of all the family members.  It seemed too contrived.  I am pretty sure no one gatecrashed at each others houses in those days.

At the start of the book there was a little Rebecca like atmosphere as Elizabeth feels overshadowed by references to her late mother-in-law Anne Darcy.  She is vital to the story, as most of the mystery Mr. & Mrs. Darcy are trying to unravel belongs to the past.

I loved the way the writer combines the characters from Northanger Abbey and Pride and Prejudice. I was sad that Catherine Tilney makes no appearance in it.

All in all this is a very interesting book. I look forward to reading other Mr. & Mrs. Darcy mysteries.

Jane Austen - Northanger Abbey

+Project Gutenberg

This was the last Jane Austen book of the lot that I read. I have not read the books later plucked from her manuscripts like Lady Susan and The Watsons.  My friends have assured me that they are is good, but I cannot somehow think of them as genuine Austens.

I was completely bowled over by Northanger Abbey when I read it first.  I loved Catherine Morland and I loved Henry Tilney. Catherine is an ordinary young girl, and Henry Tilney is nowhere as haughty and moneyed as other Austen heroes.

The plot of this book is simple and uncomplicated.  Catherine Morland is the daughter of a clergyman.  She is invited by her neighbours, the Allens, to accompany them to Bath for a visit.  She is sucked into a world of glamour, new dresses, dances and theatre.  She makes friends with two families, the Tilneys and the Thorpes.  She enjoys the company of Eleanor Tilney and falls for her brother, Henry Tilney.  She is pursued by John Thorpe whom she does not like much. She is very friendly with his sister, Isabella Thorpe.  Catherine's brother, James, arrives in Bath as well and seems to be sweet on Isabella.

In this pretty little scene comes General Tilney, the father of Eleanor and Henry.  He gives a lot of attention to Catherine and seems very keen to please her.  Will he approve of a match between Henry and Catherine?  Will Isabella and James unite?  

A Jane Austen book can never be written off as a mere romance, written to please the reader for a short while, to pass the time as they wait at Airports.  Her books are a mirror of her times.  She creates a charming picture of her society and their manners.  Her observances are full of wit and intelligence.

In Northanger Abbey, Austen chooses to remark upon the propensity of the young towards Gothic novels.  Catherine likes reading Ann Radcliff books.  It colors the way she sees the world, she is forever looking for dark secrets where none exist.  She needs Henry Tilney to show her that there are no deep secrets lurking in the locked up rooms of Northanger Abbey.  She also learns not to take people at face value.  A lot of people hide their true intentions under false words.

Henry Tilney is her teacher here.  He is a sensible young man.  He loves Catherine for her frankness and naivety, and also her unabashed love for him.   He is quite unlike Darcy or Knightley.  For one thing, he does not have the same kind of money or grandeur.  Despite that, or because of that, he is very likeable.  He is my new favorite. 

I recommend you read Northanger Abbey right away if you have not done so already.  If you have read it, re-read it as often as you can.  It is a delightful little gem which will keep throwing new things you missed noticing in previous readings.

I was drawn back to this book after I saw the 2007 ITV adaptation of the novel of the same name.  I was charmed by it.  Adaptations are not always very faithful and it is fun to go back to the novel to compare where they differ.   I have heard that the 1985 BBC adaptation is better.  I need to look it up sometime to discover that for myself.

Maybe I need to bring myself to read Lady Susan at last.