Jane Austen's Nothanger Abbey is a unique work unlike many other novels of the early 19th century. It is clear that the author was conscious of her audience and it can be argued that Austen had, in a sense, created a new breed of characters within a new breed of novel. Catherine Morland, through her coming-of-age story, is a completely believable and realistic character, challenging the way readers typically relate to the characters in their novels. Throughout her journey, Catherine experiences excitements, disappointments and even difficulties that passionate readers, like her, can easily identify with. Jane Austen strategically uses various narrative techniques throughout her work, which also allow the reader to better understand the mind of her heroine; they begin to become familiar with Catherine and even develop a relationship and attachment to her. Furthermore, to reinforce the development of a connection between her readers and her characters, Austen established a new form of novel, peppering her work, Northanger Abbey, with gothic elements. In total, through her unique and believable characters, her narrative strategies and her sense of gothic characteristics and defiance of the norm, Jane Austen succeeded in establishing a classic and timeless novel. In Northanger Abbey's protagonist, Catherine Morland, Jane Austen invented a whole new breed of character. . Strategically, the author wrote himself into the book. Austen explores the struggles of a young reader: deciphering between reality and the fictional world of novels, a struggle she experienced firsthand. It is evident that Catherine is an avid reader, from Austen's repeated references to classic novels, in addition to her famous defense...... middle of paper ...... ability to carry them away, in another world. . Yet, through Catherine, they are reminded that they are leaving reality behind and that at some point they must return and distinguish between fiction and realism. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen is a unique literary work that has earned the right to stand on its own. Through it, she strategically designed a new form of character within a new form of novel. She uses her own experiences and combines them tactically with her novel characters, particularly Catherine Morland, her intelligent narrative style and her distinctive use of Gothic imagery to challenge her readers. She causes her readers to turn their judgment on themselves and realize that at one point in their lives, they walked a mile in Catherine's shoes. Works Cited Austen, Jane. Northanger Abbey. New York: Oxford University Press. 2003. 5-187.