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Northanger Abbey /ˈnɔrθˌæŋɡər/ was the first of Jane Austen's novels to be completed for publication, though she had previously made a start on Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice. According to Cassandra Austen's Memorandum, Susan (as it was first called) was written circa 1798–99. It was revised by Austen for the press in 1803, and sold in the same year for £10 to a London bookseller, Crosby & Co., who decided against publishing. In the spring of 1816, the bookseller was content to sell it back to the novelist's brother, Henry Austen, for the exact sum—£10—that he had paid for it at the beginning, not knowing that the writer was by then the author of four popular novels. The novel was further revised by Austen in 1816/17, with the intention of having it published. Among other changes, the lead character's name was changed from Susan to Catherine, and Austen retitled the book Catherine as a result. Austen died in July 1817. Northanger Abbey (as the novel was now called) was brought out posthumously in late December 1817 (1818 given on the title page), as the first two volumes of a four-volume set that also featured another previously unpublished Austen novel, Persuasion. Neither novel was published under the title Jane Austen had given it; the title Northanger Abbey is presumed to have been the invention of Henry Austen, who had arranged for the book's publication.
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Northanger Abbey can be read as a subtle and witty criticism of the Gothic tradition in its early stages, and more particularly of works similar to Ann Radcliff's The Mysteries of Udolpho and The Romance of the Forest. Like Emma, the novel is concerned with tracing the growth of a young woman's mind and the cultivation of her judgement. At the beginning of the story, Catherine is portrayed as an enthusiastic reader of horror tales. Accordingly, she makes her way through life with gothic expectations borrowed from her favorite romances. In the course of time, her interaction with the Tilneys and other people in Bath wakes he up of her dreamy frame of mind, and raises her awareness in regard to the difference between fiction and real life. At the same time, the novel addresses the economic side of matrimony, and investigates the role of wealth in bringing families together, or casting a life-time shadow of sadness over the lives of young people. Catherine, by way of illustration, was invited to the Abbey by General Tilney because the latter had mistaken her to be an heiress and, therefore, a suitable wife to his son. Once he had found out her prospects were not as bright as he thought them to be, however, he sent her back home hastily in a very disgraceful manner. The heroine's immature mindset at the beginning of the story calls attention to the inadequate upbringing of women at the time, and emphasizes the author's concern with women's education and lack of opportunities.