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

Herbert Kretzmer in the Daily Mail said the 24-year-old Schlesinger "plays the girl with a pleasing, persuasive simplicity, eyes rounded and mouth slightly agape. . . ."

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Connections

Referenced in Comedy Connections: Drop the Dead Donkey (2006)

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Soundtracks

The Lancer's Quadrilles: La Dorset
(uncredited)
Composed by Spagnoletti
[Catherine dances with Henry Tilney at the Cotillion Ball]

User Reviews

Northanger Abbey

Northanger Abbey benefits from location shooting in Bath, you have a scene where men and women are bathing in the waters with their clothes on.

Katharine Schlesinger plays the teenager Catherine Morland who likes reading Gothic stories and who lets her imagination run wild when she meets the Tilney family. She thinks the father General Tilney might have had something to do with the death of his wife.

However this Jane Austen adaptation does appear starchy, even dull. Googie Withers lights up the screen. Peter Firth's character does come across as odd and not very romantic.

However this Screen Two production tried to get away from the chocolate box version of Austen dramatisations.