The Doyenne of Austenesque fiction, Diana Birchall, tours
the blogosphere October 28 through November 15 to share her latest release, The Bride of Northanger. Thirty popular
bloggers specializing in historical and Austenesque fiction will feature guest
blogs, interviews, excerpts, and book reviews of this acclaimed continuation of
Jane Austen’s Gothic parody, Northanger Abbey.
Northanger
Abbey by Jane Austen was Austen’s humorous response to the Gothic novels of her
day. In that novel she introduces one of
the best Austen heroes, Henry Tilney, who not only has a great sense of humor,
but is an honorable man. The heroine
Catherine Moreland, learns to put aside her Gothic fears and learns that you
can’t always judge people by your first impression.
Bride
of Northanger picks up right where Northanger Abbey left off. Catherine and Henry marry and begin life at
Henry’s parsonage. Before their marriage,
Henry tells Catherine of a curse on the Tilney family that dooms the wife of
the eldest Tilney son. Catherine feels
some angst, but as she is the wife of the second son, she does not overly worry.
General Tilney does not approve of their marriage and manages to ignore
Catherine whenever he can. The curse
slowly seems to envelope the Tilney family and control their actions. Will Henry and Catherine get their happily
ever after, or will they become a part of the Tilney curse?
I enjoyed
this novel and was sad when it ended.
Author Diana Birchall truly captures the essence of all of the
characters from Jane Austen’s original novel.
They acted just as I would imagine they would. It was a perfect sequel. Bride of Northanger was more Gothic in tone than
the original novel, which was a perfect read for this time of year. The humor of the original was also apparent
in this novel. I loved seeing Henry and
Catherine’s marriage, it was a sweet, nice marriage that worked well for both
of them.
Favorite
Quotes:
“If
Catherine Morland was not born to be a heroine, she ended by becoming something
very like one.”
“And
it is wonderful that you have turned out a woman not only of strength, but of
positively exemplary steadiness of mind!
I used to think you rather a creature of imagination, but in truth the
qualities of sense and sensibility are most admirably blent in your character.”
“No,
thought I must say that there are some things between heaven and earth, that cannot
quite be explained.”
Overall,
Bride of Northanger by Diana Birchall is a perfect sequel to Northanger Abbey
by Jane Austen that captures the essence of the original characters and introduces
them to a new Gothic adventure.
Book
Source: I received a review copy for
being a part of this tour. Thank-you
Austenprose for putting this tour together!
THE BRIDE OF
NORTHANGER BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE:
October 28 Austenprose—A Jane Austen Blog
(Review)
October 29 A Covent Garden Gilflurt’s Guide of
Life (Guest Blog)
October 29 From Pemberley to Milton
(Excerpt)
October 30 Drunk Austen (Interview)
October 30 Silver Petticoat Review
(Excerpt)
November
01 So Little Time… (Interview)
November 01 Laura's
Reviews (Review)
November 04 English Historical
Fiction Authors (Guest Blog)
November 04 Confessions of a Book Addict (Spotlight)
November 05 More Agreeably Engaged (Review)
November 05 Vesper’s Place (Review)
November 06 Jane Austen in Vermont (Interview)
November 07 A Bookish Way of Life
(Review)
November 08 Babblings of a Bookworm (Review)
November 11 My Jane Austen Book Club (Review)
November 11 Reading the Past
(Spotlight)
November 12 Jane Austen’s World
(Interview)
November 12 The
Calico Critic (Excerpt)
November 13 The Book Rat (Review)
November 13 Austenesque
Reviews (Review)
November 14 Fangs, Wands, & Fairy Dust
(Review)
November 14 The Fiction Addiction
(Review)
November 15 My Love for Jane Austen
(Spotlight)
November 15 Scuffed Slippers and Wormy
Books (Review)
QUICK FACTS:
- Title: The Bride of Northanger: A Jane Austen Variation
- Author: Diana Birchall
- Tour Dates: October 28 – November 15, 2019
- Genre: Austenesque, Historical Fiction, Gothic Mystery
- Publisher: White Soup Press (September 19, 2019)
- Length: 230 pages
- Trade paperback ISBN: 978-0981654300
- eBook ASIN: B07Y2HGSMX
- Author’s website: https://austenvariations.com/diana-birchall/
PURCHASE LINKS:
- Amazon Paperback Link: https://amzn.to/35uV0KB
- Amazon eBook Link: https://amzn.to/2IM6Eao
- Barnes & Noble eBook Link: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-bride-of-northanger-diana-birchall/1133647214?ean=2940163715497
- Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48205456-the-bride-of-northanger
- Publishers Page: https://whitesouppress.com/the-bride-of-northanger-by-diana-birchall/
A happier heroine than Catherine Morland does not exist in
England, for she is about to marry her beloved, the handsome, witty Henry
Tilney. The night before the wedding, Henry reluctantly tells Catherine and her
horrified parents a secret he has dreaded to share - that there is a terrible
curse on his family and their home, Northanger Abbey. Henry is a clergyman,
educated and rational, and after her year’s engagement Catherine is no longer
the silly young girl who delighted in reading “horrid novels”; she has improved
in both reading and rationality. This sensible young couple cannot believe
curses are real...until a murder at the Abbey triggers events as horrid and
Gothic as Jane Austen ever parodied - events that shake the young Tilneys’
certainties, but never their love for each other...
EARLY PRAISE:
“Diana Birchall once again proves herself the worthiest of
Austenesque fiction writers, with keen powers of observation, discernment,
judgment, fire, genius, and wit on every page.” — Devoney Looser, author of The
Making of Jane Austen
“No one captures Jane Austen's vibrant style, sense of
humor, intelligence, and voice better than Diana Birchall. I flew through this
charming novel, which makes a delightfully spooky and most welcome sequel to Northanger
Abbey.” — Syrie James, author of The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen
“One of the most enjoyable returns to Austen to be found.
Not to be missed.” — Susan Franzblau, author and film director
AUTHOR BIO:
Diana Birchall worked for many years at Warner Bros studios
as a story analyst, reading novels to see if they would make movies. Reading
manuscripts went side by side with a restorative and sanity-preserving life in
Jane Austen studies and resulted in her writing Austenesque fiction both as
homage and attempted investigation of the secrets of Jane Austen's style. She
is the author of In Defense of Mrs. Elton, Mrs. Elton in America,
Mrs. Darcy's Dilemma, and the new The Bride of Northanger. She
has written hundreds of Austenesque short stories and plays, as well as a
biography of her novelist grandmother, and has lectured on her books and staged
play readings at places as diverse as Hollywood, Brooklyn, Montreal, Chawton
House Library, Alaska, and Yale. Visit Diana at her Austen Variations author page, follow her
on Twitter, Facebook and Goodreads.