Introduction and Notes by David Blair, University of Kent. Northanger Abbey tell s the story of a young girl, Catherine Morland who leaves her sheltered, rural h ome to enter the busy, sophisticated world of Bath in the late 1790s. Austen obs erves with insight and humour the interaction between Catherine and the various characters whom she meets there, and tracks her growing understanding of the wor ld about her. In this, her first full-length novel, Austen also fixes her sharp, ironic gaze on other kinds of contemporary novel, especially the Gothic school made famous by Ann Radcliffe. Catherine's reading becomes intertwined with her s ocial and romantic adventures, adding to the uncertainties and embarrassments sh e must undergo before finding happiness.