Though it was published posthumously in 1818, Northanger Abbey was originally penned by Jane Austen in 1799 and had been reworked several times prior to the author's death. The novel is a satire on sensational gothic fiction, which was all the rage in early 19th-century Britain. The main character, Catherine Morland, is 17 and a gothic novel fanatic. Among her extensive list of "must-reads" is Ann Radcliffe's The Mysteries of Udolpho. When Catherine is invited to stay at the eerie manor house of her friends, the Tilneys, this "heroine in training" is in her element!