Northanger Abbey

By: Jane Austen

Narrated by: Mary Sarah Agliotta

Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

In Northanger Abbey, a young woman's penchant for sensational Gothic novels leads to misunderstandings in the matters of the heart. Austen's first, this is considered by many to be among her most charming novels.

Public Domain (P)2012 Trout Lake Media

Meant to be read aloud..perfect for Audible!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

The story, a light-hearted parody of Gothic novels, was meant to be read aloud as family entertainment. Given that, it is wonderfully suited for Audible. The narrator, Mary Sarah Agliotta, does the story justice with her clear and engaging narration.

What did you like best about this story?

The directness with which Austen addresses the reader is fascinating and reveals her own thoughts about various topics.

What about Mary Sarah Agliotta’s performance did you like?

Ms. Agliotta did a great job. Her narration is well-paced and engaging. Her voice is clear, soothing and otherwise quite pleasant.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Following the struggles and adventures of Catherine throughout this fantastic parody was entertaining.

Execution Seriously Lacking

If the monotone reading didn’t drone me to sleep, then the duplicate lines and mispronunciations impeded my enjoyment of this excellent story. Sadly, I can not recommend this audiobook.

My least favorite of Jane Austen's books.

I love Jane Austen but never got around to read or listen to this one. I'm thinking I might have gotten more out of actually reading the book instead of listening to it because it starts out kind of disjointed with the premise and the characters. All of her other books drew me in right away but this one didn't. It didn't have the same witty banter and writing that her other books have. Anyway, it's not horrible because it's Jane Austen but not my favorite.

Adequate but Flawed Performance of a Classic

Where does Northanger Abbey rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Northanger Abbey is not Austen's finest novel, but it is enjoyable. The reading was only adequate, but I have heard worse narrations.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I suspect that my favorite character is the author, who in her narrator's persona makes various snide remarks.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Alas, there were a lot of problems, though not so many as to make the work intolerable. This narration badly needed going over by an editor, to spot mispronounced words and duplicate sentences. There were enough mispronunciations to be irritating, and Mary Sarah Agliotta should get herself some coaching on that point.
She could have spotted the duplicate sentences herself if she had carefully listened to the finished product before releasing it. There also were several points at which she did not recognize what was going on in a sentence until she was halfway through, resulting in poor choices of which words to stress.
Her voice was pleasant enough, and I am not greatly bothered by the fact that she did not attempt strong differentiation of the voices of different characters. The problem is that most narrators on Audible are so superb that this reading did not measure up.

If you could take any character from Northanger Abbey out to dinner, who would it be and why?

I am not sure I would enjoy going to dinner with any of the characters, all of whom seem to be pretty shallow people. I would love to go to dinner with the author.

Any additional comments?

Jane Austen uses this book to praise the value of reading novels, and at the same time demonstrates the foolishness of allowing Gothic novels to form one's expectations. It is a lovely juxtaposition.

Good version

I love this story and I thought the narrator did a good job. I enjoyed her performance

Jane Austen read well.

Where does Northanger Abbey rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I'm new to Audible, but this was the best I have heard so far.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Northanger Abbey?

Ms. Agliotta's voice adds an innocent quality to the point of view of the narrator.

Any additional comments?

The book itself has all the charm and wit of Jane Austen's famous writing. This is a delightful narration of the book. I found myself rooting for the young Katherine Moorehead throughout, wanting her to see the flaws in those around her in order to make her way through the world. After all, as Austen shows us once again, the superficial have lovely manners, also!

"Pretty Good" Jane Austen is still delightful--!

This audio book needs a close re-edit; there are multiple (at least six) instances of phrases being repeated - recording/editing errors, not repetitions within the book itself. It also needs at least half-a-second of open air added at the end of each chapter, and maybe half-a-second added to the beginning of each chapter. As it stands, the beginning of a new chapter runs closer to the previous word than any other sentences.

Mary Sarah Agliotta has a pleasing voice but uses a few strange pronunciations, which I always find a bit jarring. But overall her performance is good, just marred by sound-editing flaws.

Northanger Abbey itself is not one of Jane Austen's best novels but it's still an entertaining book.

Good story but...

What did you like best about Northanger Abbey? What did you like least?

I really like the story, Jane Austen is one of my favorite writers. But the narrator didn't even bother to figure out how to pronounce "Leicestershire" etc., it is very distracting!!

Was Northanger Abbey worth the listening time?

Yes, it was worth the listening time... but it sure did come with some annoyance at the narrator.

Compared to Pride and Prejudice this is just so-so

I think the narrator has a nice voice and was enjoyable to listen to, but it was often hard to discern between even male and female characters. I enjoyed her quick speech for certain characters but found it a little frustrating to hear this portrayed in both Catherine and Isabella Thorpe. As for the editing of this audiobook, it jumped without a pause from the end of a sentence directly into each new chapter. There was at one point a repeated phrase of the narrator that was not intended - it sounded like the editor accidentally added the read sentence twice.
For the novel itself, I have always enjoyed Jane Austen's quick wit and wonderful character development. But sadly --and I haven't read any history behind her writing of this story-- though parts of the book were well thought out, others seemed to be rushed over and even written without any effort at all. The well-hoped for propsal of marriage at the end of each of her books was probably the most evident of that in this particular novel. Rather than giving any dialog to Henry, it is written in third person that he professes his love for Catherine, and that was that. There was a good explanation to settle a resolution but not much in the way of romance at all. Jane Austen also says in multiple places, "I'll leave it to the reader to imagine this themselves." Nonetheless, I think she was a brilliant writer and will continue to enjoy her novels by reading and listening instead to her other books.

Classic, Elegant and Clear

The precision of language in this book is phenomenal. Jane Austin deserves all the accolades she received. She lets us into the minds of characters who have wit and depth of personality. The reading of the story is graceful and melodic, but a bit rushed. Overall, a worthwhile way to spend a few hours in awe of the behavior and morals of a time that seems regretfully gone.