Bookraft

Persuasion and Northanger Abbey debuted together in 1817 shortly after Jane Austen's death as a combination of novels. Their juxtaposition is due to the delayed release of Northanger Abbey completed 17-18 years before as Jane's first full length novel.

In contrast, Persuasion is the last complete novel by Jane Austen, finished in August 1816, 11 months before the novelist's death at 41 on July 17, 1817. The two stories, as might be expected, are marked by so different heroines - Persuasion's Anne of the declining Eliots versus Northanger Abbey's young and impetuous Catherine Morland. The two heroines and books are a fascinating contrast in style and character.

Persuasion's Anne is 27 years old and described as past her bloom within a declining Eliot family whose satyr father and elder sister, Elizabeth, are proud, prolifigate and bringing the family ever closer to financial bankruptcy. Both regard Anne in low esteem as she seems headed for spinsterhood. Anne's mother has died 13 years before and so her mentor, Lady Russell, has proved pivotal in dissuading Anne from accepting a marriage proposal 8 year before from a recently promoted but impecunious Captain Fredrick Wentworth to whom Anne ha d become very attached. Anne comes to regret this painful decision but maintains her ties with Lady Russell as the dame protects her from some of the extravagances of Anne's father and sister. Persuasion carries this litter of love and opportunity lost, social malfeasance, and blatant philandering balanced against the good will and balanced affections of families and couples like Musgroves the Crofts and the Carvells.

Northanger Abbey's Catherine Morland is 17, just blossoming into beauty[described by the author as "pleasing, and, when in good looks, pretty"] and going to Bath for the very first time with her wealthy neighbors, the Allans for a Winter turn. At Bath in the social meet-ups like the Concert Hall and the Pump Room it becomes obvious that Catherine is young, impressionable, and untutored. But she cannot look to benafactoress, Mrs. Allan for any good social council as she appears self absorbed in fashion and appearances. So instead Catherine lives in her current obsession, the World of Gothic novels which she reads with a passion. However a chance meeting with Henry Tilney at a Pump Room dance launches her courtship which occupies the balance of the comedy - for this is as much a witty tale of true romance in two versions [love laced with deceit and loss, love allowed to emerge] as it is an opprtunity for Jane Austen to poke fun at her writing rivals with delicious satire.

What makes the two stories even more interesting when compared are common elements - a gentry lifestyle for most characters, autobiographical incidents that steep into Jane's stories including life at Bath. Then there are the marked differences between the two novels. We have already seen the contrast in the heroines, but there is also the impact of Jane's own ill health and a marked change in writing style.