Northanger Abbey always makes me wonder how it was received, given its publication followed Austen’s mature, and very much more controlled, novels. What gives the text unity; exactly how does the action in Bath lead to the developments at Northanger Abbey? Who is the villain of the text?
Issues in the adaptation of Emma for the screen included the need to accommodate the fact that much of the ‘action’ in the novel centres on the inaccuracy Emma’s interpretation of others’ behaviour. Northanger Abbey presents similar difficulties for adaptation to screen. Does the fact that the text is deeply embedded in the literature of the time increase the difficulty of adaptation for a 21st century audience; or is there enough cultural common ground to smooth over this potential obstacle?
Catherine is the youngest and most naive of Austen's heroines, and she, like Emma, has to learn to see things differently - to be schooled in understanding the world as it is, not as she imagines it. How does Austen do this? How does she educate the reader, too?
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