Although unpublished until 1818, Northanger Abbey was written in the late 1790's, and sold to a publisher in 1803. The publisher, for reasons unknown, decided against printing the work. Austen tells the tale in her Preface.

In this novel, Catherine Morland is a young woman much influenced by the excesses of Gothic romances. Austen satirizes the popular Gothic novel through the wild imaginings of her heroine.