-
Northanger Abbey
- An Audible Original Drama
- Narrated by: Emma Thompson, Douglas Booth, Eleanor Tomlinson, Ella Purnell, Jeremy Irvine, Lily Cole
- Length: 6 hrs and 6 mins
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy for $21.31
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Persuasion
- By: Jane Austen
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Anne Elliot has grieved for seven years over the loss of her first love, Captain Frederick Wentworth. But events conspire to unravel the knots of deceit and misunderstanding in this beguiling and gently comic story of love and fidelity.
-
-
Juliet Stevenson is Simply Amazing
- By Em on 04-15-12
By: Jane Austen
-
Mansfield Park (Naxos Edition)
- By: Jane Austen
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 16 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At the tender age of 10, Fanny Price is 'adopted' by her rich relations and is removed from the poverty of her home in Portsmouth to the opulence of Mansfield Park. The transplantation is not a happy one. Dependent, helpless, neglected and forgotten, Fanny struggles to come to terms with her new life until, tested almost to the limits of endurance, she assumes her rightful role....
-
-
Oh such felicity, such gaiety, such rapture!
- By Neil Chisholm on 02-05-12
By: Jane Austen
-
Northanger Abbey
- By: Jane Austen
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Catherine Morland, a country clergyman's daughter, is invited to spend a season in Bath with the fashionable high society, little does she imagine the delights and perils that await her. Captivated and disconcerted by what she finds, and introduced to the joys of "Gothic novels" by her new friend, Isabella, Catherine longs for mystery and romance. When she is invited to stay with the beguiling Henry Tilney and his family at Northanger Abbey, she expects mystery and intrigue at every turn.
-
-
Awesome
- By Johnny on 08-01-09
By: Jane Austen
-
The Jane Austen BBC Radio Drama Collection
- Six BBC Radio Full-Cast Dramatisations
- By: Jane Austen
- Narrated by: David Tennant, Benedict Cumberbatch, Julie McKenzie
- Length: 14 hrs and 27 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A collection of BBC radio full-cast dramatisations of Jane Austen's six major novels. Jane Austen is one of the finest writers in the English language, and this volume includes all six of her classic novels. Mansfield Park: on a quest to find a position in society, Fanny Price goes to live with her rich aunt and uncle. Northanger Abbey: young, naïve Catherine Morland receives an invitation to stay at the isolated Gothic mansion Northanger Abbey.
-
-
Superb acting, but beware of audio idiosyncracies!
- By Shelly M. Felton on 07-06-16
By: Jane Austen
-
Jane Eyre
- By: Charlotte Brontë
- Narrated by: Thandiwe Newton
- Length: 19 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Following Jane from her childhood as an orphan in Northern England through her experience as a governess at Thornfield Hall, Charlotte Brontë's Gothic classic is an early exploration of women's independence in the mid-19th century and the pervasive societal challenges women had to endure. At Thornfield, Jane meets the complex and mysterious Mr. Rochester, with whom she shares a complicated relationship that ultimately forces her to reconcile the conflicting passions of romantic love and religious piety.
-
-
Thandie Newton is INCREDIBLE!
- By Andrea Frazee on 10-31-16
By: Charlotte Brontë
-
Emma [Naxos Edition]
- By: Jane Austen
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 16 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of Jane Austen's most popular novels. Arrogant, self-willed, and egotistical, Emma is her most unusual heroine.
-
-
Excellent in Every Way
- By Carole T. on 06-20-12
By: Jane Austen
-
Persuasion
- By: Jane Austen
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Anne Elliot has grieved for seven years over the loss of her first love, Captain Frederick Wentworth. But events conspire to unravel the knots of deceit and misunderstanding in this beguiling and gently comic story of love and fidelity.
-
-
Juliet Stevenson is Simply Amazing
- By Em on 04-15-12
By: Jane Austen
-
Mansfield Park (Naxos Edition)
- By: Jane Austen
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 16 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At the tender age of 10, Fanny Price is 'adopted' by her rich relations and is removed from the poverty of her home in Portsmouth to the opulence of Mansfield Park. The transplantation is not a happy one. Dependent, helpless, neglected and forgotten, Fanny struggles to come to terms with her new life until, tested almost to the limits of endurance, she assumes her rightful role....
-
-
Oh such felicity, such gaiety, such rapture!
- By Neil Chisholm on 02-05-12
By: Jane Austen
-
Northanger Abbey
- By: Jane Austen
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Catherine Morland, a country clergyman's daughter, is invited to spend a season in Bath with the fashionable high society, little does she imagine the delights and perils that await her. Captivated and disconcerted by what she finds, and introduced to the joys of "Gothic novels" by her new friend, Isabella, Catherine longs for mystery and romance. When she is invited to stay with the beguiling Henry Tilney and his family at Northanger Abbey, she expects mystery and intrigue at every turn.
-
-
Awesome
- By Johnny on 08-01-09
By: Jane Austen
-
The Jane Austen BBC Radio Drama Collection
- Six BBC Radio Full-Cast Dramatisations
- By: Jane Austen
- Narrated by: David Tennant, Benedict Cumberbatch, Julie McKenzie
- Length: 14 hrs and 27 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A collection of BBC radio full-cast dramatisations of Jane Austen's six major novels. Jane Austen is one of the finest writers in the English language, and this volume includes all six of her classic novels. Mansfield Park: on a quest to find a position in society, Fanny Price goes to live with her rich aunt and uncle. Northanger Abbey: young, naïve Catherine Morland receives an invitation to stay at the isolated Gothic mansion Northanger Abbey.
-
-
Superb acting, but beware of audio idiosyncracies!
- By Shelly M. Felton on 07-06-16
By: Jane Austen
-
Jane Eyre
- By: Charlotte Brontë
- Narrated by: Thandiwe Newton
- Length: 19 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Following Jane from her childhood as an orphan in Northern England through her experience as a governess at Thornfield Hall, Charlotte Brontë's Gothic classic is an early exploration of women's independence in the mid-19th century and the pervasive societal challenges women had to endure. At Thornfield, Jane meets the complex and mysterious Mr. Rochester, with whom she shares a complicated relationship that ultimately forces her to reconcile the conflicting passions of romantic love and religious piety.
-
-
Thandie Newton is INCREDIBLE!
- By Andrea Frazee on 10-31-16
By: Charlotte Brontë
-
Emma [Naxos Edition]
- By: Jane Austen
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 16 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of Jane Austen's most popular novels. Arrogant, self-willed, and egotistical, Emma is her most unusual heroine.
-
-
Excellent in Every Way
- By Carole T. on 06-20-12
By: Jane Austen
-
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
- Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem!
- By: Seth Grahame-Smith, Jane Austen
- Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren
- Length: 11 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains." So begins Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, an expanded edition of the beloved Jane Austen novel featuring all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie mayhem.
-
-
Katherine Kellgren - Wow!
- By Lee on 07-15-09
By: Seth Grahame-Smith, and others
-
Wuthering Heights [Trout Lake Media Edition]
- By: Emily Brontë
- Narrated by: Emma Messenger
- Length: 13 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Famous, all-encompassing, passionate, but ultimately doomed love between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, and how this unresolved passion eventually destroys them and the people around them. Today considered a classic of English literature, Wuthering Heights was met with mixed reviews when it first appeared, mainly because of the narrative's stark depiction of mental and physical cruelty.
-
-
Twisted Tale, Amazing Narrator
- By Jessica on 07-02-13
By: Emily Brontë
-
Agent 355
- By: Marie Benedict
- Narrated by: Emily Rankin
- Length: 2 hrs and 7 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The tide is turning against the colonists in the Revolutionary War, and 18-year-old Elizabeth Morris cannot sit by idly. Quietly disdainful of her Tory parents, who drag her along to society events and welcome a British soldier into their home during their occupation of New York City, Elizabeth decides to take matters into her own hands. She realizes that, as a young woman, no one around her believes that she can comprehend the profound implications of being a nation at war - she is, effectively, invisible. And she can use this invisibility to her advantage.
-
-
Should’ve leaned into history or romance
- By Phx17 on 07-03-20
By: Marie Benedict
-
Sanditon
- By: Jane Austen, Kate Riordan
- Narrated by: Alexandra Roach
- Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Written only months before Austen's death in 1817, Sanditon tells the story of the joyously impulsive, spirited, and unconventional Charlotte Heywood and her spiky relationship with the humorous, charming (and slightly wild!) Sidney Parker. When a chance accident transports her from her rural hometown of Willingden to the would-be coastal resort of the eponymous title, it exposes Charlotte to the intrigues and dalliances of a seaside town on the make, and the characters whose fortunes depend on its commercial success.
-
-
Revolting
- By gman on 01-29-20
By: Jane Austen, and others
-
North and South
- By: Elizabeth Gaskell
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 18 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Written at the request of Charles Dickens, North and South is a book about rebellion that poses fundamental questions about the nature of social authority and obedience. Gaskell expertly blends individual feeling with social concern and her heroine, Margaret Hale, is one of the most original creations of Victorian literature. When Margaret Hale's father leaves the Church in a crisis of conscience she is forced to leave her comfortable home in the tranquil countryside of Hampshire....
-
-
Delightful
- By Sally on 01-04-10
-
Once More upon a Time
- A Novella
- By: Roshani Chokshi
- Narrated by: Rebecca Gibel, Shiromi Arserio, Vikas Adam
- Length: 3 hrs and 26 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Once upon a time, there was a king and queen in a land called Love's Keep who once loved one another, but alas, no more. Without love, they were doomed to be ousted from their kingdom at the end of a year and a day. A year and a day passed. This is where their story starts. Imelda and Ambrose can't remember why they got married. A year and a day ago, Ambrose consulted a witch, trading their love to save Imelda's life - and they've been stuck with one another ever since.
-
-
Fairy tales of magic apples and horse cloaks
- By Phx17 on 06-07-20
By: Roshani Chokshi
-
The Cuckoo's Cry
- An Audible Original Novella
- By: Caroline Overington
- Narrated by: Aimee Horne
- Length: 4 hrs and 43 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the eve of the global lockdown, Don Barlow opens the door of his old beachside cottage to find a pretty girl with pink-tipped hair, claiming to have nowhere to go. He allows her entry, and so begins a mystery set in unprecedented times: with the virus raging outside their home, the girl cannot be asked to leave, but what does he risk by having her stay?
-
-
Slow burning Aussie suspense in the time of COVID
- By Phx17 on 07-04-20
-
Dracula [Audible Edition]
- By: Bram Stoker
- Narrated by: Alan Cumming, Tim Curry, Simon Vance, and others
- Length: 15 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The modern audience hasn't had a chance to truly appreciate the unknowing dread that readers would have felt when reading Bram Stoker's original 1897 manuscript. Most modern productions employ campiness or sound effects to try to bring back that gothic tension, but we've tried something different. By returning to Stoker's original storytelling structure - a series of letters and journal entries voiced by Jonathan Harker, Dr. Van Helsing, and other characters - with an all-star cast of narrators, we've sought to recapture its originally intended horror and power.
-
-
Mina: A Heroine for the Ages
- By Nicole on 08-15-14
By: Bram Stoker
-
Lady Susan, The Watsons, Sanditon
- By: Jane Austen
- Narrated by: Emilia Fox
- Length: 7 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
These three short works show Austen experimenting with a variety of different literary styles, from melodrama to satire, and exploring a range of social classes and settings. The early epistolary novel Lady Susan depicts an unscrupulous coquette toying with the affections of several men. In contrast, The Watsons is a delightful fragment whose spirited heroine, Emma Watson, finds her marriage opportunities limited by poverty and pride....
By: Jane Austen
-
The Jane Austen Society
- A Novel
- By: Natalie Jenner
- Narrated by: Richard Armitage
- Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One hundred and fifty years ago, Chawton was the final home of Jane Austen, one of England's finest novelists. Now, it's home to a few distant relatives and their diminishing estate. With the last bit of Austen's legacy threatened, a group of disparate individuals come together to preserve both Jane Austen's home and her legacy. These people - a laborer, a young widow, the local doctor, and a movie star, among others - could not be more different and yet they are united in their love for the works and words of Austen.
-
-
Why so much bad language? Ruined a good book
- By Anonymous User on 08-12-20
By: Natalie Jenner
-
The Space Race
- An Audible Original
- By: Colin Brake, Patrick Chapman, Richard Hollingham, and others
- Narrated by: Kate Mulgrew
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A century ago very few people dreamed of space travel. Today it is the most daring and technologically sophisticated quest ever undertaken, being driven not just by government agencies such as NASA and ESA, but also by visionaries such as Richard Branson (Virgin Galactic), Elon Musk (SpaceX) and Jeff Bezos (Blue Origin). To mark the 50th anniversary of the 1969 moon landing, this major drama-documentary series charts the definitive story of the past, present and future of humankind’s exploration of space. The Space Race is narrated by Kate Mulgrew and features a full cast.
-
-
All Nonfiction Parts GREAT but Fiction Bad
- By Catherine Puma on 03-18-20
By: Colin Brake, and others
-
Anne of Green Gables
- By: Lucy Maud Montgomery
- Narrated by: Rachel McAdams
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With all of the pluck and charm of its eponymous young hero, Rachel McAdams (The Notebook, Spotlight, Midnight in Paris) delivers a spectacular reading of Montgomery's beloved bildungsroman. In moments both funny and bittersweet, McAdams' voice is imbued with the spark that has made Anne a much-loved symbol of individualism and cheer for over a century.
-
-
grade school teacher narration
- By FB on 07-21-17
Publisher's Summary
A coming-of-age tale for the young and naïve 17-year-old Catherine Morland, Northanger Abbey takes a decidedly comical look at themes of class, family, love and literature. Revelling in the sensationalist - and extremely popular - Gothic fiction of her day, the story follows Catherine out of Bath to the lofty manor of the Tilneys, where her overactive imagination gets to work constructing an absurd and melodramatic explanation for the death of Mrs Tilney, which threatens to jeopardise her newly forged friendships.
This Audible Originals production of Northanger Abbey stars Emma Thompson (Academy Award, Golden Globe, Emmy and BAFTA winner, Love Actually, Harry Potter, Sense and Sensibility), Lily Cole (The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Snow White and the Huntsman, St. Trinian's), Douglas Booth (Noah, Great Expectations, The Riot Club), Jeremy Irvine (Warhorse, The Railway Man, Now Is Good), Eleanor Tomlinson (Poldark, The Illusionist, Alice in Wonderland) and Ella Purnell (Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, Never Let Me Go, Kick-Ass 2), amongst others.
Critic Reviews
More from the same
What listeners say about Northanger Abbey
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- if it's not baroque
- 01-01-18
Amusing audio experience
Abridged telling of Austen's first published novel which amuses the listener, but the adaptation does edit out too much of the gothic satire so central to the original work. I would recommend this to someone who has already read the unabridged book, but I suppose it could work for someone trying to ease in to Austen.
55 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Em
- 07-21-17
A Treasure
Northanger Abbey has always been one of my favorite Austen stories (along with Persuasion, Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, and… oh). Anyway—it ranks WAY higher than Mansfield Park, at least. But I’ve always loved that it’s Austen’s most obvious play at satire, demonstrating, perhaps ironically (or maybe, given Austen’s own life, not at all) what kind of trouble a wild imagination can get a young woman into. So it lends itself beautifully to this new high-spirited, and very funny, dramatization. It even seems that Austen has herself been cast as the omniscient and wise narrator (and who else more fully embodies those qualities than the brilliant Emma Thompson?). If you love a good comedy of manners, don’t miss this delightful audio-only treasure.
91 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- D. Littman
- 09-08-17
There is no substitute for unabridged
This audiobook looked very good at first glance with an array of professional actor narrators handling a volume with much character dialogue. The Book has large sections of description and context which is lost by converting a long volume of text into a short play. In Austen as in many other novelists abridgment of this kind results in a huge loss. I'm afraid that reading or listening to a well narrated version of the entire book is superior to a skinnied down version. There is more than one unabridged version of this book available in audio.
282 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- mary
- 07-30-17
Simply Superb!
Jane Austen never disappoints of course, and of course this is one of my favorites, right upp there with... Well... Basically everything she ever wrote so never mind about that comment. But this production is amazing! The charm, the delightful story, the amazing actors, the writing, the everything, it's great. If you are in doubt, don't be. These were some of the best six hours of my life! Thank you Audible and to Ms. Austen as ever. I
26 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Carol
- 07-28-17
I wish for more stars to fill in
Every Jane Austin is my favorite. I go back to listen to each repeatedly. I must admit I did not adequately appreciate the wry humor of Northanger Abbey until listening to this production. It may now be my favorite.
33 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 07-30-17
Excellent story and performance
The Audible recording of Northanger Abbey is a wonderful presentation of this story by the celebrated author Jane Austen as expertly adapted by Anna Lea. The excellent actors, superb narration by the peerless Emma Thompson, and vivid production make NA a first-rate audio book.
19 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- MegaReader
- 11-15-17
Hmmm, not a fan of this one.
I had forgotten how objectionable the characters were in this story, so right away I realized that I wasn’t liking the story itself.
Add that to the fact that the volume for many of the performers was very low and background noise interference made it even harder to hear them without constantly adjusting the volume and it was pretty much doomed for me.
Only bright light was the narration by Emma Thompson. She can make anything sound good.
I’m sorry I bought this one.
106 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Boyd
- 07-30-17
Great surprise
Although I have attained a fairly great age, I had never read Northanger Abbey. As the story progressed I thought it rather slow moving, however, halfway through the tale picked up for my interest and kept me engaged to make it one of the few audiobooks I completed in less than a day.
24 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Lindy R
- 01-02-18
I had to stop listening
I agree with another reviewer that the background noise, such as clanging of tea cups and silverware, made it difficult to concentrate on the actors and actresses. Emma Thompson is always perfect, and the other female actors were good. I also agree with the other reviewer that the male actors were wooden and unconvincing. I listen to audio books during my 45 commute to and from work. They help me relax and traffic doesn't bother me as much. I couldn't finish this audio book, because the background noise was irritating.
44 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 07-31-17
Some excellent performances, some poor
The female parts were very well done but the male parts were wooden and unconvincing.
18 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- S Plateau
- 07-31-17
Austen's best work brought to life
Northanger Abbey is often overshadowed by Jane Austen's other greats such as Pride and Prejudice or Sense and Sensibility. However I think that it is some of her best work, bringing just the right amount of drama, romance and heartache into a brilliant story.
The cast is absolutely fantastic, with once again the amazing Emma Thompson perfectly capturing Austen's dry sense of humour and wit within the text. Ella Purnell really brings to life the innocence and naivety of Catherine and Jeremy Irvine makes Henry a lovable bachelor.
I'd highly recommend this to anyone, it's a really enjoyable listen with a great cast to match.
25 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Sue
- 08-04-17
Joyfully Done.
i first read this as a teenager and was swept up in the romance, totally missing the slight silliness of the heroine.
This adaptation looks at her squarely, but with great affection, for what she is, a very young, very naive girl, oblivious to other people's schemes.
I don't remember the gentle humour at her overblown, over-dramatic gushiyness but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I don't understand the criticisms of other reviewers for the narrator, and the idea that she is an American is hysterical!
Emma Thompson plays the part of Jane Austin brilliantly. Her love for her heroine is clear but she is not blind to her failings. The pace of the narration moves with the pace of the narrative and I adored it.
I'm off now to read the book to compare it to this adaptation and see what I missed as a girl.
15 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Amazon Customer
- 02-13-18
Dramatised Northanger Abbey
Any additional comments?
Lovely adaptation and Emma Thompson as the narrator/Jane is superb. However this was my first dramatised audible book and it took a bit of getting used to. The background noises were very off putting and sometimes it was a little difficult to understand which character was speaking. Having said all that, it was very enjoyable!
12 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- FictionFan
- 11-19-17
Horridly excellent!
Northanger Abbey is the most deliciously light of all of Austen’s books, filled with humour as Austen pokes gentle fun at her own class and gender. Catherine Morland is our naïve 17-year-old heroine, leaving her country parsonage home for the first time to visit the bright lights of Bath in the company of her generous neighbours, the Allens. Starry-eyed and romantic, and with an obsessive love of the Gothic sensation fiction of the day, Catherine is ready to be thrilled by everything and everyone she meets. Having reviewed the book before, I'm concentrating here on the production and performances in Audible's new dramatisation of it.
This is done as half narration and half dramatisation. The narration is done superbly by Emma Thompson, someone who truly 'gets' Austen as anyone who has watched her performance in the wonderful 1995 version of Sense and Sensibility will know – a film for which she also wrote the script. In this one, she goes all out to bring out the humour in the script, and her affectionately ridiculing tone and excellent comic timing had me laughing aloud time and time again. It truly feels to me as if she's channelling Austen – I suspect if Jane read her manuscript aloud to her family, she'd have delivered it just like this, with the same fond teasing of our delightful Catherine and the same gasping drama over the Gothic horror elements, played strictly for laughs. Thompson verges perilously close to going over the top at points, but is far too masterful to actually do so. Part of me wished this was a straight narration – and I really would like her to narrate all the Austen novels, please, when she has a moment to spare.
That's not to suggest I didn't enjoy the dramatised elements too – I did, very much. The young cast were largely unknown to me, since I don't watch much TV or film, but several of them have impressive lists of credits to their names already. Each turned in a fine performance here with no weak links in the chain.
The role of Catherine is vital, and Ella Purnell does an excellent job in portraying the youthful naivety that sometimes leads her into foolish behaviour. She brings great charm to the role, with the same infectious good humour that makes Catherine such a likeable heroine on the page. Henry, I always feel, is a harder role to pull off, since frankly he's so patronising to our lovely Catherine and his sister Eleanor that I often have an uncontrollable desire to hit him over the head with a well-filled reticule. So I was very impressed with the way Jeremy Irvine was able to navigate that aspect with such a degree of warmth in his tone that I found it easy to forgive him and to understand Catherine's attraction to him. (And bear in mind, girls, that I didn't even have the advantage of being able to see him... except perhaps in my mind's eye... ;) )
Douglas Booth and Lily Cole are both nicely unlikeable as the baddies John and Isabella Thorpe (Boo! Hiss!), Booth managing with aplomb all John's boastful silliness about his horses and so on, while Cole drips delicious insincerity with every word. As the sensible one, Eleanor Tilney can tend to be somewhat dull as a character, but Eleanor Tomlinson gives her some much needed vivacity, while in the big dramatic scene near the end, she brings out beautifully all her distress and embarrassment. My other favourite is Mrs Allen, played by Anna Chancellor. Again she can be a tricky character; her rather silly empty-headedness and obsession with clothes could easily be annoying in the wrong hands, but Chancellor brings out her affectionate nature and the true warmth of her feelings towards Catherine, and the script is very humorous at showing how she allows her husband to form all her opinions for her.
Directed by Catherine Thompson, the production itself is fun with all the appropriate sound effects of carriages rattling along the roads, dramatic music for the Abbey horror scenes and delightful dance music during all the various balls. The balance between narration and dramatisation is good and I find this format works particularly well for audio – better than either alone for me. The bursts of dramatisation hold my attention in a way that an unbroken narration, however good, sometimes doesn't; while the narration gives an opportunity to hear the author's voice and fill out the background that's sometimes missed when a book is reduced completely to dialogue. The script too, by Anna Lea, is excellent, sticking as it should entirely to Austen's own words. I felt it had been a little abridged, not just for the linking parts in the dialogue to make it work as a dramatisation, but also in some of the narrated parts. But if so, the abridgement is done smoothly and none of the important elements have been cut.
So another excellent audio drama from Audible, who seem to be producing more and more of these, and casting them with some of our top performers. Keep them coming, I say! And as for this one – highly recommended!
NB This audio drama was provided for review by Audible UK via MidasPR.
25 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Malie Lalor
- 07-21-17
Lovely dramatisation of a favourite Austen
Would you consider the audio edition of Northanger Abbey to be better than the print version?
I think if you're an Austen fan you need to own the print, the wonderful unabridged audio version narrated by Juliet Stevenson, AND this great dramatisation for your life to be complete.
Have you listened to any of the narrators’s other performances? How does this one compare?
Emma Thompson is brilliant as the arch and sympathetic narrator. Eleanor Tomlinson in particular is wonderful as Miss Tilney and I would love to listen to other books read by her. The other characters are all very well performed though Isabella isn't exactly how I imagined her.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Yes, definitely. I'm sure I'd listen to it again.
Any additional comments?
So satisfying having a leisurely adaptation that gives a pretty much unabridged version of this Austen rather than a brief 2- or 3-hour version. Hope Audible Studios will give all the other Austens this treatment, and a few other classics too!
9 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Marie grice
- 12-29-17
wonderful.
enjoyed immensely. story was exceptional and read well bringing to life the characters. beautiful book to listen to.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Amazon Customer
- 02-19-19
Austen explained
I’ve read this book so many times over the years, and wanted to hear it with an other point of view. This Audible version makes Catherine a little less silly, miss Thorpe more vain, and mr Tilneys intentions clearer. All the subtleties of Austen are explained, and overall it’s a sweet teenage romance novel.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Phillippa
- 09-29-18
Transparent plot, found it boring
I can't think of more than one other audiobook that I didn't finish but I am so bored with the transparency and predictability of this plot that I don't want to go on. Have got over half way, too. I like the dramatisation, just not Austen's writing in this instance. I returned it.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Kindle Customer
- 05-16-18
Almost did not finish
I was really struggling with this book. As a fan of Jane Austen I expected more. Perhaps this was my mistake. The plot is boring. Also I didn't like the drama part about the reading. It had to many voices and sound effects. It was really distracting for me.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Sally
- 04-15-18
poor old Jane Austen.
I absolutely love the book, so I thought this would be great. all those good actors!!OMG! dreadful.. I thought initially that I had accidentally pressed the narration speed button.. but no! they galloped through the story as though they had to catch a bus. it was ridiculous.. frentic, almost manic. sorry about that but it was really awful. another refund for that one. I could hear Jane swivelling in her grave.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Jessica
- 07-28-17
Absolutely brilliant!
One of the best Audio books I've listened to in a very long time. So happy that Audible have put this together! I have long been a massive fan of Jane Austen's works and you have done Northanger Abbey absolute justice. Amazing voice acting by all the actors involved. Please continue to make more of these!!!
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Cherylyn
- 07-01-20
Loved it!!
I had never heard of this Jane Austen book before and so was a bit dubious about it. Within the first few minutes I knew I was going to love it! What a fabulous performance and so beautifully written in typical Jane Austen style.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Anonymous User
- 02-09-19
amazing love it
love love love it. favourite Jane Austen and the production made it even better and amazing!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Gavininc
- 04-27-18
Jane Austen and Emma Thompson = Perfect Story Esca
What made the experience of listening to Northanger Abbey the most enjoyable?
Emma's narration and the experienced voice actors. Such thought was put into consistent performances.
What did you like best about this story?
It's as relevant today as it was 150 years ago
What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?
They bring a sense of urgency, felicity and humanity
Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
I laughed and felt for out protagonist
Any additional comments?
Northanger Abbey is such a simple romantic story that will transport you to Victorian England.