The Poetics of (P)ostmode(r)n(e) Parody in Austen’s Northanger Abbey

Abstract

What is considered Austen’s ‘juvenilia’ period, dating from 1787to 1793 and which contains ‘principaly burlesque narratives thatparody the fictional modes of her time’ (Lauber, p. 11) is clearly thesame period in which her significant ‘experimental’ modes arebeing written. The foundation for Northanger Abbey lay in the textSusan written in 1798–99 (her pre-postmodern-post-juvenilia phase)a time which also post-dates drafts she was writing of Pride andPrejudice in 1796. The novel, with the same title, was sold to Crosbie& Company in 1803 for £10, but was never published. Austenwrites on 5 April 1809: ‘Gentlemen, In the spring of the year 1803a MS. Novel in 2 vol. entitled Susan was sold to you by a Gentlemanof the name of Seymour, & the purchase money £10, reed at thesame time. Six years have passed, & this work of which I am myselfthe Authoress, has never to the best of my knowledge, appeared inprint, tho’ an early publication was stipulated for at the time of sale.I can only account for such an extraordinary circumstance by supposingthe MS. by some carelessness to have been lost; & if that wasthe case, am willing to supply you with another copy if you aredisposedto avail yourselves of it [my italics], & will engage for no farther delaywhen it comes into your hands. It will not be in my power fromparticular circumstances to command this copy before the Month ofAugust, but then, if you accept my proposal, you may depend onreceiving it. Be so good as to send me a line in answer as soon aspossible, as my stay in this place will not exceed a few days. Shouldno notice be taken of this address, I shall feel myself at liberty tosecure the publication of my work, by applying elsewhere [my italics],I am Gentlemen &c. &c.’ (Chapman, p. 263). This letter wasanswered by Richard Crosby on 8 April 1809 in which he answersby saying that they paid for the manuscript titled Susan the sum of£10 ‘for which we have his stamped receipt as a full consideration.KeywordsCritical SpaceChapter VersusYoung LadyFalse AllegationReading PublicThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.