At the B&N Reads blog Nicole Hill tagged five novels written as genre parodies that stand on their own, including:
Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen
Austen isn’t necessarily the first name that comes to mind when you think “satire,” especially if you’re Mark Twain. Northanger Abbey, however, is lauded both as Austen’s Gothic parody and as one of her most lighthearted and accessible reads. Austen fans will find all the grand balls and dancing and conflicted love stories they could want, and fans of a good, spooky Gothic novel will find all the necessary ingredients, but with an added self-awareness that makes all the proceedings deliciously amusing. Naive young Catherine thinks life is like her beloved Gothic thrillers, so when she finds herself in a musty, shadowy mansion, she sees intrigue, suspense, and malfeasance at every turn.
Read about
the other entries on the list.
Northanger Abbey is among
Helen Maslin's ten most evocative fictional castles and manors and
Johanna Lane's five best imaginary castles in fiction.
--Marshal Zeringue
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