Northanger Abbey Tough-o-Meter

(4) Base Camp

In terms of plot and style, Northanger Abbey isn't that hard to follow. Sure, the language is a bit old fashioned and some of the speech patterns do take a little getting used to, but the book is pretty straightforward overall. It's also relatively short too, and makes for a fun, and funny, read. The only major difficulty with reading Northanger Abbey is the abundance of historical and literary allusions. Of course, not getting all of those totally doesn't detract from the book overall. It's just funnier in places if you do get the references. Other than the occasional pause to read a footnote (or Shmoop's very own handy "Shout Out" section), this book is a relatively quick and entertaining read.