Although this was not my favorite of the Jane Austen books, such an observation can hardly be interpreted as a criticism. I mean, there simply are not enough superlatives to describe her books. As far as Northanger Abbey is concerned, I was particularly struck by the exuberance of the heroine. When her imagination runs away with her in the wake of her reading of The Mysteries of Udolpho I was completely charmed. Austen captured the imaginative spirit of young womanhood in this book in ways that are quite timeless.