Northanger Abbey novels at the time. According to Austen biographer Claire Tomalin "there is very little trace of personal allusion in the book, although it is written more in the style of a family entertainment than any of the others". Joan Aiken writes: "We can guess that "Susan" [the original title of "Northanger Abbey"], in its first outline, was written very much for family entertainment, addressed to a family audience, like all Jane Austen's juvenile works, with their asides to the reader, and absurd dedications; some of the juvenilia, we know, were specifically addressed to her brothers Charles and Frank; all were
Northanger Abbey Eleanor plays no other role throughout the novel, except for the fact that she persuades her father to grant Catherine and Henry permission to marry. Frederick Tilney: He is the older brother of Henry Tilney and Eleanor Tilney, and the presumed heir to the Northanger estate. Frederick is an officer in the army, who takes advantage of women with his handsome and fashionable looks, pursuing flirtations with pretty girls who are willing to offer him some encouragement (though without any serious intent on his part). This is evident throughout his interactions with Isabella Thorpe as mentioned by Henry when describing