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JANE AUSTEN (NOVEL DATE 1818)

SOURCE: Austen, Jane. "Chapter 14." In Northanger Abbey. 1818. Reprint edition, pp. 107-16. New York: Signet, 1996.

In the following excerpt from Northanger Abbey, first published in 1818, Catherine discusses the pleasure she derives from reading Gothic fiction—Ann Radcliffe's Mysteries of Udolpho, in particular—versus what she perceives as the drudgery of reading nonfiction works, such as histories.

The next morning was fair, and Catherine almost expected another attack from the assembled party. With Mr. Allen to support her, she felt no dread of the event: but she would gladly be spared a contest, where victory itself was painful, and was heartily rejoiced therefore at neither seeing nor hearing anything of them. The Tilneys called for her at the appointed time; and no new difficulty arising, no sudden recollection, no unexpected summons, no impertinent...

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1. Introduction
2. Representative Works
3. Primary Sources
   1. Jane Austen (Novel Date 1818)
4. Title Commentary
   1. Northanger Abbey
5. Further Reading

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