Northanger Abbey

Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Volume 1, Chapters 1-4

Reading Check

1. What is Mrs. Allen’s main interest in life?

2. What person in Catherine’s life does Isabella mention knowing?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Describe the teenage Catherine Morland.

2. How does Catherine meet Henry Tilney?

Volume 1, Chapters 5-8

Reading Check

1. What profession does Isabella tell Catherine she has a preference for?

2. What two men are in the carriage being driven recklessly through the streets of Bath when Catherine and Isabella are trying to catch up to the men they saw in the Pump-Room?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. After Isabella confides her preferences in men to Catherine, what odd promise does she extract from Catherine?

2. How does John demonstrate poor manners at the ball in Chapter 8?

Paired Resource

“‘The Unmeaning Luxuries of Bath’: Urban Pleasures in Jane Austen’s World”

• This article by Dr. Paula Byrne explains the cultural landscape of Regency Bath and Jane Austen’s connections to the city.
• This resource relates to the theme of The Journey From Innocence to Experience.
• After reading this article about Regency Bath, what evidence do you see that Catherine has entered an entirely new world from the one she was raised in? How does Catherine process this new world? Are there hints that she is missing important information about her new setting and the people in it?

Volume 1, Chapters 9-12

Reading Check

1. Who is the older man who watches Catherine and Henry dancing?

2. Who tells Catherine that General Tilney says she is the finest young woman in Bath?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How do John and Isabella cause Catherine to miss another opportunity to spend time with Henry?

2. What puzzling remark does John make about James’s wealth and his horse?

Volume 1, Chapters 13-15

Reading Check

1. What reason does Mr. Allen give for telling Catherine she should not go riding in the carriage with James and the Thorpes?

2. Whom do the Thorpes persuade to take Catherine’s place on the carriage ride?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. When John lies to Eleanor and says that Catherine wants to reschedule their walk so that she can go on a carriage ride with Isabella and James, how does Catherine react?

2. When Isabella reveals to Catherine her engagement to James, what comments does she make that should alert Catherine that Isabella has a mistaken belief about the Morlands?

Paired Resource

“What Courting in Regency England Was Actually Like”

• This 11-minute video explains the social expectations related to courtship in Regency England. If your students are younger, you may wish to preview the video, as some of its language and humor may not be appropriate for all teaching situations.
• This resource relates to the themes of The Journey From Innocence to Experience, The Difference Between Fantasy and Reality, and The Importance of Love and Loyalty.
• Armed with the information in this video, how would you evaluate Isabella’s behavior toward Catherine and toward men? Does Catherine understand Isabella as clearly as the reader is meant to? Besides her relative innocence, what other aspects of Catherine’s personality make her prone to believe what she wants to believe about Isabella and miss the obvious signs that Isabella is neither a good role model nor a good friend?

Volume 2, Chapters 1-4

Reading Check

1. Besides spending time with Henry and Eleanor, what does Catherine look forward to about her visit to Northanger Abbey?

2. Who eases Catherine’s concerns about the flirtation between Frederick and Isabella?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What hypocritical claim does Isabella make about attending the ball in Chapter 1?

2. How does Frederick’s arrival at the Pump-Room demonstrate that Catherine has misinterpreted Isabella’s behavior a few minutes previously?

Paired Resource

“List of Common Cognitive Biases”

• This article from Verywell Mind lists and explains 10 common cognitive biases.
• This resource relates to the themes of The Journey From Innocence to Experience and The Difference Between Fantasy and Reality.
• Which of the biases in this article do you see in Catherine’s thinking? Has she gotten better at avoiding any of these biases since the beginning of the story? What do you think Austen’s purpose might be in portraying Catherine’s thinking in this way? What does it say about Austen’s ability to understand and portray human beings that she created the character of Catherine Morland in the beginning of the 1800s?

Volume 2, Chapters 5-8

Reading Check

1. What item in her room provokes Catherine’s curiosity?

2. Whose rooms does Eleanor promise Catherine a tour of when the General is away from Northanger Abbey?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What does Henry find amusing about Catherine’s expectations of Northanger Abbey?

2. How do Catherine’s investigations of her room on her first night at Northanger Abbey lead her to feel foolish the next morning?

Volume 2, Chapters 9-12

Reading Check

1. What news does Catherine receive in a letter from James that deeply upsets her?

2. What does Isabella hope that Catherine will do for her when she writes?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How does Henry counter Catherine’s speculations about Mrs. Tilney’s death?

2. How does the General misinterpret Catherine’s reaction to the village of Woodston?

Paired Resource

“The Canterville Ghost”

• This lesser-known Oscar Wilde short story is a parody of Gothic fiction in which a modern, pragmatic-minded family purchases a haunted mansion, and its resident ghost becomes increasingly frustrated with his attempts to haunt them.
• This resource relates to the theme of The Journey From Innocence to Experience and The Difference Between Fantasy and Reality.
• How does Wilde satirize some of the conventions of Gothic fiction? In what ways are the central characters in “The Canterville Ghost” the opposite of Catherine Morland? How does Wilde’s tone differ from Austen’s? Which approach do you find more effective as satire—Wilde’s or Austen’s?

Volume 2, Chapters 13-16

Reading Check

1. When Henry asks Catherine to show him the way to the Allens’ house, what is he really hoping for?

2. Who convinces General Tilney to allow Catherine and Henry to marry?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Despite the General’s treatment of her, how does Catherine continue to show respect for his wishes as she and Eleanor are parting?

2. How does Catherine’s family’s reaction to General Tilney’s behavior contradict her expectations?

Recommended Next Reads

Emma by Jane Austen

• Emma Woodhouse, a somewhat spoiled and naive young woman, misjudges those around her and meddles in their lives until she is forced to see herself more clearly—both by circumstances and her growing attraction to the sensible Mr. Knightley.
• Shared themes include The Journey From Innocence to Experience, The Difference Between Fantasy and Reality, and The Importance of Love and Loyalty.
• Shared topics include Regency romance, the impact of money and social status on decisions about marriage, friendship, civility, and social mores.  
• Emma on SuperSummary

Northanger Abbey by Val McDermid

• Part of The Austen Project—in which well-known contemporary authors reimagine Austen classics—McDermid’s updated version of Northanger Abbey offers the adventures of Cat Morland, a naive and romantic minister’s daughter whose extensive reading and smartphone use convince her that her adventures at the Tilney home are much more than meet the eye.
• Shared themes include The Journey From Innocence to Experience, The Difference Between Fantasy and Reality, and The Importance of Love and Loyalty.
• Shared topics include the impact of money and social status on decisions about marriage, friendship, civility, and social mores.