This book is just so fun. It doesn’t follow any book in particular, although we get to see the couples get together in different circumstances (and there’s an extra couple — after Mr. Collins is tragically slain by a vampire, widowed Charlotte is free to seek a more genial second husband). This is really the themes and characters from our favorite Austen novels in a gothic adventure mashup. Catherine longs for something nearly as exciting as her novels, Elizabeth and Darcy keep getting thrown together, General Tilney is pretty ominous, but is he actually a villain? Caroline Bingley is still a stuckup jerk, Isabella is still a sneaky climber, etc. Plus, some of our acquaintance have become vampires or are hiding undead relations.
Our characters maintain their Austen-style dialogue through out the book, and it is such fun. Basically, if you were intrigued by “Austen vampire mashup,” this story really delivers. Keeping up appearances while looking for a suitable husband meshes surprisingly well with keeping up appearances while looking for someone who can help cope with the curse of vampirism (or looking for the person responsible…). There’s a fun moment where one character uses a recent widow in residence as an excuse to escape social obligations, when he’s really hiding a vampire.
But one cannot observe all the Regency social conventions while hiding a vampire or while on other undead adventures. I was shocked when a certain couple pretended to be married at an overnight stay in an inn. What if one of their acquaintance had heard of such a thing? She would be ruined! And later there’s a new acquaintance formed at Bath, without a proper introduction! Shocking! I guess while concealing various vampire relations, one might let a few of the conventions go.
I don’t want to reveal too much, but I’ve always been a bit sad that Charlotte Lucas wound up with such a dud husband, and I was pleased to see her new life in this book. And I loved Catherine Morland getting to experience some horrid gothic creepiness instead of just reading about it.
You guys, NorthFanger is just so fun to read, and there’s something hilarious about a vampire adventure novel where the characters read “horrid” gothic novels. Fans of the fun gothic parody scenes in Northanger Abbey will have a great time reading the fun gothic variations on Austen’s novels, it’s the same spirit of cheerful imitation of a genre.
Fans of this one will also enjoy Disenchanted, a fun P&P retelling with magic, and The Bride of Northanger, another variation where Catherine gets to see some gothic horrors.
I received a copy of this book to review. Opinions on my blog are my own, as always.
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