[2] From a fondness of Gothic novels and an active imagination distorting her worldview, the story follows Catherine Morland, the naïve young protagonist, as she develops to better understand herself and the world around her.

[7] The novel covers a wide array of topics such as high society, Gothic fiction, bildungsroman, the value of reading, and the importance of time.

[8] Throughout Northanger Abbey, Austen makes references to many different Gothic novels, most notably The Mysteries of Udolpho.

Although a tomboy in her childhood, she is "in training for a heroine"[9] and is fond of reading Gothic novels "provided they [are] all story and no reflection.

"[10]The Allens (her wealthier neighbours in Fullerton) invite Catherine to accompany them in their visit to the city of Bath and partake in the winter season of balls, theatre and other social activities.

James' father approves of the match and offers his son a country parson's living of a modest sum, £400 annually, but they must wait until he can obtain the benefice in two and a half years.

General Tilney (on the misinformation of John Thorpe) had believed her to be exceedingly rich as the Allens' prospective heiress, and therefore a proper match for Henry.

In London, General Tilney ran into Thorpe again, who, angry at Catherine's refusal of his earlier half-made proposal of marriage, said instead that she was nearly destitute.

Eventually, General Tilney acquiesces because Eleanor has become engaged to a wealthy and titled man; he discovers that the Morlands, while not extremely rich, are far from destitute.

[2] Austen reportedly threatened to take her work back from them, but Crosby & Co responded that she would face legal consequences for reclaiming her text.

Reviewers, for example, reduced Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice to didactic tales of virtue prevailing over vice.

[19] Beth Lau demonstrates how Austen depicts Isabella wanting to be of higher status by choosing Captain Tilney over James Morland.

[22] The washing bill that Catherine finds in the abbey works to highlight the disadvantaged position women hold to men economically.

[27] When Henry tries to dissuade Catherine of her Gothic-inspired notions that General Tilney is a murderer, he cites male authors that were so influential in establishing rules of proper conduct.

[28] Austen uses this discourse of the essays as an example of imposing power over women by using a type of language that limits what one may think.

[36] The act of overlooking a key detail is similar to the manner that marriage plots conceal information to build suspense.

[36] Gothic fiction also helps reveal negative aspects of marriage that are not as obvious in a traditional courtship plot.

[43] By creating a protagonist who does not fit the traditional role of a heroine, Austen is satirizing how women were portrayed in contemporary literature.

[46] Though Austen encourages her audience to read novels, Catherine must learn to separate life from fiction and to rein in her very active imagination.

[52] Laura Jeanne Baudot highlights this point through the discussion of the washing bill Catherine finds in a cabinet at the abbey.

[52] Through the washing bill, Austen draws the audience's attention to the clothes that the fantasy man who marries Eleanor wears.

"[57] As a result of living in the new era of "time discipline," Austen frequently uses clocks as symbols of General Tilney's authority over Northanger Abbey.

[59] Because of the importance of staying on schedule, even when General Tilney is not around, clocks serve as a symbol of his power as Catherine finds herself always checking the time.

[63] According to Austen biographer Claire Tomalin, "there is very little trace of personal allusion in the book, although it is written more in the style of a family entertainment than any of the others".

[64] Joan Aiken writes: "We can guess that Susan [the original title of Northanger Abbey], in its first outline, was written very much for family entertainment, addressed to a family audience, like all Jane Austen's juvenile works, with their asides to the reader, and absurd dedications; some of the juvenilia, we know, were specifically addressed to her brothers Charles and Frank; all were designed to be circulated and read by a large network of relations.

[67] These works were later thought to be of Austen's own invention until the British writers Montague Summers and Michael Sadleir re-discovered in the 1920s that the novels actually did exist.

[70] The most significant allusion, however, is to Ann Radcliffe's The Mysteries of Udolpho, as it is the Gothic novel most frequently mentioned within this text.

Notably, Jane Austen sold the manuscript of Northanger Abbey to the same firm that published Radcliffe's novel in 1794.

[72] Jasper Fforde, in his alternate history comic fantasy novel First Among Sequels, refers to Northanger Abbey as being under maintenance and "should be ready on time as long as Catherine stops attempting to have the book 'Gothicized'."

[73] HarperCollins hired Scottish crime writer Val McDermid in 2012 to adapt Northanger Abbey for a modern audience, as a suspenseful teen thriller, the second rewrite in The Austen Project.