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REVIEW: Miss Eleanor Tilney: or, The Reluctant Heroine, by Sherwood Smith

 

I have always admired Eleanor Tilney. Though a minor character in Northanger Abbey, I believe she is one of the most intelligent women in 19th century literature, right up there with Marian Halcombe. In this short novel, Sherwood Smith recognises Eleanor's intelligence and good sense. She also develops some depth in her, showing her to be caring and sensitive, and deserving of a good, loving marriage.

While Eleanor demonstrates a strong, yet gentle, nature, she did strike me as being rather idle, unlike, say, Emma, who is always trying to do good, or the Bennetts who are always busy with needlework, helping each other or working in the family kitchen. Now, it would not be right for Eleanor to work in the kitchen, but she does not even pick up a pair of secateurs. She is not musical either, though she dances well enough.

Smith's depiction of Catherine Moreland is almost indistinguishable from Austen's and she fits into this pastiche with admirable ease. There is a clever device of having Henry Tilney teasing Catherine with stories and gothic attributes to be found within Northanger Abbey, which feed her imagination and give a stronger motivation and context to Catherine's subsequent imaginings and actions.

The descriptions of the Thorpes are perfectly in tune, as are those of the gentle, generous Allens. However, Smith shines with her development of General Tilney. Though not as potentially sinister as in the original, his mercurial behaviour and snobbery are well portrayed but do not go over the top. Indeed, the General in this book is wholly consistent with Robert Hardy's brilliant portrayal of him in the 1987 BBC/Screen Two production.

Sherwood Smith's plotting is clever, paralleling and supplementing Northanger Abbey admirably, but not duplicating the narrative. Seeing things from Eleanor's point of view also makes the familiar scenes fresh. Jane Austen is guilty of using Deus ex Machina endings, so Smith cannot be criticised for that, but the ending is rather abrupt.

On the other hand, the book maintains a modern pace and is highly entertaining. The language, apart from a few anachronisms (no Jane Austen character ever would have "gifted" anything to anyone), the language pays appropriate homage to Jane's 18th/19th century vocabulary, and may send the reader to the dictionary once or twice. (A further proof that the reader is not wasting his time!)

I would have liked to have seen more extended dialogue and perhaps some more physical descriptions of the surroundings - especially Northanger Abbey itself - but this a personal preference and not a failing of the book.

Lovers of Northanger Abbey (the book has something of a cult following) will not be disappointed at revisiting the abbey and its inhabitants in this amusing novel.

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