FILM · 2007 · UK
Northanger Abbey
16 archived facts 3 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (16)
- #001
Felicity Jones spoke about Jane Austen: "People think Austen is much more romantic and outspoken than she actually was. She is quite practical about love and relationships - she is very measured about who people should marry. What is quite interesting about Henry Tilney is that he doesn't immediately fall madly in love with Catherine. It's a very gradual development, and it's her enthusiasm for him that makes him return her love. The way she draws her characters is very subtle, and that's what I like."
- #002
Northanger Abbey is a coming-of-age novel by the English author Jane Austen and a satire of Gothic novels. Although its title page is dated 1818 and it was published posthumously in 1817 together with Persuasion, Northanger Abbey was completed in 1803, making it Austen's first fully completed novel.
- #003
The green jacket and buff breeches worn by JJ Feild as Henry Tilney are the same costume worn by Colin Firth as Mr Darcy in Pride and Prejudice (1995).
- #004
In an interview with Marion McMullen of the Coventry Evening Telegraph, Andrew Davies explained that the Gothic elements in the novel inspired him to add dream sequences and fantasies to the script. He told McMullen: "I stayed very faithful to the book, but one of the differences was writing scenes showing Catherine's fantasies. Catherine is a great reader of horror fiction - the Gothic novel was very popular in those days, just as a young girl today might read quite steamy romance novels. In this production we see some of Catherine's fantasies, some of which are quite steamy for a young girl."
- #005
The flexible knitted bonnet that Catherine Walker (Eleanor Tilney) wears with Catherine in the garden is the same hat worn by Rosamund Pike (Jane Bennet) in Meryton in Pride and Prejudice (2005), by an extra in church in Becoming Jane (2007), and by Emily Blunt (Victoria) in The Young Victoria (2009) when she learns that Mr Bingley has returned to Netherfield.
- #006
English actress Felicity Jones was cast as Catherine, the protagonist and eldest daughter of the Morland family. Jones won the role at her first audition, only two weeks after graduating from Oxford University.
- #007
Northanger Abbey (2007) was filmed in Ireland from late August 2006. Shooting lasted five weeks and the series was shot on Super 16 mm film. Twenty-first-century Dublin streets doubled for the nineteenth-century Bath of the novel. Lismore Castle in County Waterford was chosen as Northanger Abbey, the home of the Tilney family. Higginsbrook House near Trim, County Meath, served as the exterior of the Morland family home. The house was later used in Becoming Jane (2007), a film about Austen's early life. Other filming locations included Dublin Castle, Ardbraccan House and Charleville Castle.
- #008
The straw bonnet with a grey ribbon worn by Felicity Jones (Catherine Morland) is the same hat worn by Claudie Blakley (Charlotte Lucas) in the Rosings chapel in Pride & Prejudice (2005).
- #009
The red and white muslin dress that Catherine Walker (Eleanor Tilney) wears to greet Catherine and Henry when they return from Woodston is the same dress worn by a wedding guest in Emma (1996).
- #010
The white and blue muslin day dress worn by Felicity Jones (Catherine Morland) while reading a book in Bath is the same costume worn by Samantha Bond (Maria Bertram) walking with Mr Crawford in Mansfield Park (1983) and by Allie Byrne (Lady Kiely) in Sharpe's Battle (1995).
- #011
The white muslin dress worn by Felicity Jones (Catherine Morland) at the opera in Bath is the same costume worn by Claudie Blakley (Charlotte Lucas) at the Netherfield ball in Pride and Prejudice (2005).
- #012
The white dress with pink and green stripes worn by Carey Mulligan (Isabella Thorpe) when she first meets Catherine Morland is the same costume worn by Jessica Ashworth (Lucy Lefroy) at the Laverton fair in Becoming Jane (2007).
- #013
Actress Carey Mulligan was cast as Isabella Thorpe, Catherine's shallow and selfish friend. The actress had previously worked with Andrew Davies on his adaptation of Bleak House (2005).
- #014
The red dress with a brocade bodice and capped sleeves worn by Sylvestra Le Touzel (Mrs Allen) in Bath is the same dress worn by Sophie Thompson (Mary Musgrove) at dinner at Uppercross in Persuasion (1995).
- #015
Northanger Abbey (2007) was one of three novels adapted for ITV's Jane Austen season. The film was shot in Ireland from late August 2006 on a budget of £2 million. The series was produced by Granada Productions and the American studio WGBH Boston. Northanger Abbey was the second Jane Austen adaptation shown in the United Kingdom, premiering on 25 March 2007 in the UK and on 16 December 2007 in Canada. It aired in the United States and Australia in 2008. The series was watched by 5.6 million people in the United Kingdom, making it the second most-watched of the 2007 adaptations. Northanger Abbey received mostly positive reviews from television critics, many of whom praised the cast's performances. The other Austen adaptations were Persuasion (2007) and Mansfield Park (2007).
- #016
Sylvestra Le Touzel (Mrs Allen) had previously played Fanny Price in an earlier adaptation of Mansfield Park (1983).
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