Northanger Abbey

Dearest Readers,
This entire week I've been wondering how to present this post, and after some experimentation, I have decided, in honor of Jane Austen, to write a letter.
As you know, I have dedicated this week to reading and forming an opinion on Northanger Abbey; a novel which I most heartily recommend. The style is conversational, and easy to read. Austen's wit is easily seen (Her father was at best a proverb), and readily understood. Our heroine, Catherine starts out as unlike a heroine as can be; as a young girl she ran around more than she read. However, by the age of fifteen she has discovered the Gothic novels of the period, and is growing into a young lady. A few short years later, a rich couple who has taken a liking to Catherine, propose to take her to Bath. This is when her adventure starts. In Bath, Catherine meets the Tilneys and the Thorpes, and becomes the romantic interest of both Mr. Thorpe and Mr. Tilney and a dear friend of Miss Tilney and Miss Thorpe. And, not to ruin the novel, that is where I shall leave you.
More to the point, I strongly recommend you read it. I'm no literary critic, but I do know that Northanger is very entertaining.
Now, mulling over what to comment on during the week, I came up with a list of lessons I learned from Austen's novel. One, she strongly believed that to write well you must be well read; and that any novel writer who looks down on other novels is useless. Two, not knowing something is perfectly alright; being ignorant on something is not stupidity. In fact, it provides interesting conversation. Three, people who talk about only themselves amuse only themselves. Four, only false people change their minds on important topics; and sooner or later are sure to offend. Keep those who prove to be constant. Five, Austen's style is witty and has meaning. Six, sometimes, people are different around other people. And finally, there is a real world, and then there is the dream world of novels and fantasy. It is okay to believe in that dream world sometimes, but it is important not to confuse the two. Don't jump to conclusions.
Many of these are common sense; and in fact, the point of Northanger Abbey is less to discuss human nature (although, of course, it does) and more to poke fun at the Gothic novels of the time. Austen would have read quite a few herself before and as she wrote Northanger Abbey, and obviously formed an opinion upon the entirely impossible and unlikely circumstances that fill the novels.
And on that note, I shall leave it to you, dear reader, to ponder over whether or not to pick up the book. It is easily read and understood, and the main character exceedingly likable.
All my best &ect.,
ReaderExtraordinaire