Northanger Abbey 

Catherine Morland is a young woman who enjoys reading Gothic Novels. She is invited to Bath by a family friend, Mrs. Allen, and there she meets Henry Tilney and his sister Eleanor. Upon ... See full summary »

Director:

Giles Foster

Writers:

Jane Austen (novel), Maggie Wadey

Stars:

Katharine Schlesinger, Peter Firth, Robert Hardy

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Katharine Schlesinger	...	Catherine Morland
Peter Firth	...	Henry Tilney
Robert Hardy	...	General Tilney
Googie Withers	...	Mrs. Allen
Geoffrey Chater	...	Mr. Allen
Cassie Stuart	...	Isabella Thorpe
Jonathan Coy	...	John Thorpe
Ingrid Lacey	...	Eleanor Tilney
Greg Hicks	...	Frederick Tilney
Philip Bird	...	James Morland
Elvi Hale	...	Mrs. Thorpe
Helen Fraser	...	Mrs. Morland
David Rolfe	...	Mr. Morland
Elaine Ives-Cameron	...	Marchioness
Angela Curran	...	Alice

Storyline

Catherine Morland is a young woman who enjoys reading Gothic Novels. She is invited to Bath by a family friend, Mrs. Allen, and there she meets Henry Tilney and his sister Eleanor. Upon returning to her home with her family, Eleanor invites Catherine to come along as her guest and companion. There Catherine's imagination continues to flourish and she begins to suspect a dark secret at Northanger Abbey.

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Plot Keywords:

reading | novel | secret | young woman | guest | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

PBS [United States]

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 December 1987 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Assembly Rooms, Bath, Somerset, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), A&E Television Networks

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The "little shoemaker" Mr. Allen refers to while reading the newspaper is Thomas Hardy, who was tried for sedition in London in 1794 for leading a parliamentary reform movement.

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Connections

Featured in The Real Jane Austen (2002)

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Soundtracks

Nel cor piu non mi sento (from La Molinara)
(uncredited)
Composed by Giovanni Paisiello
Performed by Peter Firth
{Henry Tilney sings]

User Reviews

Well done, elaborate, intriguing adaptation

When Jane Austen wrote 'Northanger Abbey' she intended to poke fun at the trashy Gothic literature of her day, aimed at silly, young, impressionable females. The story was meant to gradually draw the character of Catherine Morland out of the fantasy world she had built for herself, and into reality. The typical language, characters and themes of a Gothic romance were sent up the whole way through and were shown to be the epitomy of bad writing.

However, this adaptation seemed to embrace and flatter what it was that Jane Austen was attempting to satirise. It retained a gothic feel throughout and seemed to 'put back' what it was that Jane Austen was trying to 'take out'. Northanger Abbey became the mysterious castle, Henry Tilney became the intriguing Gothic hero, and the 'secret' which Catherine believed existed at the Abbey turned out to be real. One cannot help thinking that the makers of this adaptation hadn't read the book very closely as they seemed to have missed the point.

Unfortunately with an adaptation of this type, when Jane Austen was writing she was assuming that her readers would be familiar with the Gothic genre. Filmmakers today would need to explain to the audience what the Gothic genre was all about, explaining why this adaptation contains so many fantastical elements that Jane Austen was attempting to escape from.

All of this aside, it works quite well. The adaptation keeps to the storyline pretty much, and retains much of Jane Austen's witty dialogue. The music helps contribute to the eerie atmosphere very well. One cannot help but wonder at the beauty of this version. Perfectly cast and impeccably acted.