Northanger Abbey

By: Jane Austen

Narrated by: Harriet Stevens

As Jane Austen's first completed novel that was submitted to be published, Northanger Abbey is a miraculously weaved tale of love, society, and deception, themes that would come to be synonymous in literature with Austen's name. The young Catherine Morland receives a fantastic opportunity to explore the city of Bath with some family friends, and while there, she experiences a level of mental and emotional growth that was as yet unparalleled in her life. She is introduced to the socialites of the town by her friend Isabella, and meets a charming young man named Henry, who she wishes to marry. Yet when Catherine's brother and Isabella's brother - who are university friends - come to visit the two young women, trouble begins to brew as emotions begin to emerge.

As Catherine and her love interest Henry grow closer, there are various tensions which arise when others threaten to come between them, and as is common with Jane Austen's novels, money and social status constantly loom over the decisions that these characters make. Despite a brief period in which it seems that Catherine's dreams have gone by the wayside, her plans at happiness eventually come to fruition, as she discovers who truly had her best interests at heart.

Public Domain (P)2015 A.R.N. Publications

Story gets better each time I read it.

Story gets better each time I read it. The narrator read Thorpe quite well. She made her voice to be as grating as I had always believed Thorpe's voice would be.

Good story / boring narration

The book and story itself are great. Typical Austen story. The narration killed it for me though. Harriet Stevens read it like a person would read an instruction manual. I only made it through chapter one before I had to quit. I’ll find a different version.

Great Listening Experience

I read Northanger Abbey well over a decade ago, and I was truly impressed at the "listening" experience of the book versus actually reading. The narrator did a wonderful job with the story and having lived in London for 2 years and loving every bit of the British accent, it was a pure delight to listen to the splendid voice of Harriet Stevens.

Another big plus that added to the listening experience was the actual audio quality. While I was comparing the different samples on Audible, I noticed Stevens' version of the audio was mastered very well and didn't contain any breath sounds or any buzzing/humming sounds the microphone often picks up.

Overall a great Jane Austen book/narration to listen to!

it was really good

Would you consider the audio edition of Northanger Abbey to be better than the print version?

I didn't expect to enjoy this piece, just wanted to read some of victorian romans to be sure it is not what I may like, still...couldn't stop until finished)

Not sure.....

I didn't like narrator of this book, therefore, I didn't like the story. I will purchase the book later and read it on my own.

I couldn't listen...

I bought this because it went with the book for immersion reading. Unfortunately, the narrator was a problem for me.