Austen, Jane (1775-1817) English novelist often referred
to as the greatest woman writer. She is known for her
brilliant satire and her common-sense approach toward
melodramatic situations and ordinary human behavior.
Northanger Abbey (1818) This early Jane Austen novel was not
published until a year after her death. In it, Austin parodies
gothic novels- especially Ann Radcliffe's 1794 work, "The
Mysteries of Udolpho". A comedy of manners of middle-class life
in 19th century England, it deals with Catherine Moreland, an
innocent young woman who is prevented from union (at least
temporarily) with an upstanding young clergyman named Henry
Tilney both by his father as well as a duplicitous and
thoroughly-undesirable suitor, John Thorpe.
