Northanger Abbey (Felicity Jones)

(Amazon UK link)

'Northanger Abbey' is the most light-hearted of Jane Austen's novels. It's a little different from the others in that it’s overtly amusing, rather than the humour being in the irony and deliciously ghastly people. It's also something of a spoof on the ‘gothic’ novels of the time.

This adaptation – made originally for ITV – is fairly true to the book, with characters who seemed very realistic to me. The heroine, Catherine Morland (Felicity Jones) seemed particularly believable. The story shows her longing for adventure and romance, then seeing plots and dastardly deeds in the most ordinary of circumstances.

My husband watched this film with me and despite not having read the book, enjoyed it too. I wasn't sure if it would be understandable without knowing the story already, but he had no problems. There were a couple of moments when we both laughed out loud - all in all, a pleasant film.

Rated PG in the UK, and not rated at all in the USA.

Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews