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Book Review of Northanger Abbey

Northanger Abbey
Northanger Abbey
Author: Jane Austen
Genre: Literature & Fiction
Book Type: Paperback
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I read this for this month's "Classics" theme in my online book club, The Reading Cove. It just wasn't for me.

As a modern reader, I found the writing style obstructive and quite pretentious. Did people really speak this way, even 19th century Britain?? Highly unlikely.

As to the story, I did get a kick out of some of the word usage and phrasing of the times - double entendres can be gleaned everywhere: Pump room, pump yard....families wanting to have more "intercourse" with one another.....men wanting to become more "intimate" with their other men friends....

It's amazing how language and connotations change over time.

Catherine and her visit to Bath, chaperones, friends Isabella and her brother, etc. failed to fully engage me. Their woes seem awfully trivial, like much ado about nothing.

For a slim volume, this felt like it took ages to read, and I only finished because it was a buddy read. I can't get it higher than a D.