Enjoyable, but the ending felt quite rushed. Good sound design and acting. Emma Thompson's role as Jane Austen (narrator) worked well the explain the things that can't be done with dialogue. Acting was good and I especially liked the snide and sneaky Mr. Thorp. ( )

"...but while I have Udolpho to read, I feel as if nobody could make me miserable."

I went on a listening binge with this one as the dramatized, multiple cast recording was entertaining. Having said that, I read the unabridged version of Northanger Abbey in 2014 and gave it a three star rating. Perhaps listening to a well produced audio version allowed me to pick up on more of the intended symbolism but I think a lot of it still went over my head. Besides the naive Catherine Morland, most of the other characters were just plain unlikable and annoying. Henry Tilney does not make a good romantic hero. Supposedly it was purposely written that way, as an aspect of the parody theme. Overall, I think the story comes across much better via audio but it still doesn't rate among my favorite classic novels. As for other novels by Miss Austen, I still have not read Persuasion, Sense and Sensibility and The Watsons and am hoping to (eventually) be pleasantly surprised by one of those stories.

Rating details: Five stars for the excellent narration, adaptation and production of this audio version. A begrudging three stars for Miss Austen's original story and cast of characters. Rounding this out to four stars, as I am not certain how else to give the audiobook a fair rating. ( )