Northanger Abbey : and Persuasion
" ... Austen's first and last completed novels. Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen's satire on the fashionable Gothic novels of the time, was her first completed novel, probably finished in 1798 and ready for publication in 1803. It was sold for £10 to a Bath-based bookseller, Crosbie & Co. who did nothing with it and eventually sold it back to Jane Austen's brother for the original £10. Crosbie & Co. had apparently failed to connect their manuscript with the author of four popular novels and failed to capitalise on their investment. After further revision the book was published posthumously together with Persuasion, Austen's final book which she had completed in 1816, embarking upon it soon after she had finished Emma. Apart from effectively book-ending Jane Austen's literary career, the first and last of her novels make use of Austen's connection to Bath where she had lived from 1801 - 1805 and both display - the one in development and the other in full mastery - Austen's renowned uses of irony and social commentary. "That young lady has a talent for describing the involvements of feelings and characters of ordinary life which is to me the most wonderful I ever met with." (Sir Walter Scott)."--Abebooks website
eBook, English, 1818
J. Murray, London, 1818