How far is Catherine George Ward a daughter of Jane Austen?
In her book, Desire and Domestic Fiction: A Political History of the Novel, Nancy Armstrong points out that ‘sometime around the end of the eighteenth century however, the novel took a rather different direction’ (Armstrong: 1987, p.251). When Jane Austen began writing Northanger Abbey in 1798, the Gothic and Romanticism were dominating the relatively new novel form. The origins of Romanticism can be seen in the second half of the eighteenth century while the publication of Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto marked the beginning of the Gothic in 1764. These combined with hints of sensibility and the domestic made for a novel recipe very different to anything which had gone before. Catherine George Ward’s writing career began mid-way through that of Austen and her final novel, Alice Gray: A Domestic Novel, published fifteen years after Northanger Abbey, displays certain similarities to Austen’s satirical novel. This essay will look at these similarities and evidence that may suggest Ward’s later writing was greatly influenced by Austen and more specifically Northanger Abbey.
            Over her literary career, Jane Austen created many heroines - Anne Elliot, Elizabeth Bennet and Emma Woodhouse being among them, but her first, who began as Susan, and was altered in subsequent revisions, eventually became Northanger Abbey’s Catherine Morland. In the opening chapter of the novel, Catherine’s physical appearance, nature and disposition are explored in detail by the narrator who, in the very first sentence declares that ‘No one who had ever seen Catherine Morland in her infancy, would have supposed her born to be a heroine’ (Austen: 2003, p.15). The typical literary heroine of the time tended to appear in accordance with certain Gothic tropes. She certainly would not have had loving parents or lived anywhere other than a strictly Gothic mansion, but through it all she remained kind, generous and beautiful. According to Elaine Showalter, feminine writers were ‘looking for two kings of heroines. They want inspiring professional role-models; but they also wanted romantic heroines’ (Showalter: 1999, p.103). The heroines in novels should be able to serve as an example to the young and impressionable female relationship as the old tradition of conduct books had done, while still conforming to romantic criteria. Robert P. Irvine looks at the opening of Northanger Abbey and highlights the fact that ‘the first chapter tells us a lot about what she is not’ (Irvine: 2005, p.41). The brief physical description tells the reader that Catherine is not conventionally beautiful as ‘she had a thin awkward figure, a sallow skin without colour, dark lank hair, and strong features’ (Austen: 2003, p.15). Her character is also commented upon, with the narrator remarking, ‘What a strange, unaccountable character!’ (Austen: 2003, p.16) Catherine has no interest in learning French or how to draw and would skip her lessons whenever the opportunity presented itself.
            Austen’s presentation of her heroine improves slightly a few pages in when the narrator describes a change Catherine undergoes at fifteen. She begins taking pride in her appearance, styling her hair and thinking about balls and is encouraged by her parents response to the improvements, as ‘To look almost pretty, is an acquisition of higher delight to a girl who has been looking plain for the first fifteen years of her life’ (Austen: 2003, p.17). The figure of the Austen heroine has been commented upon by various critics, with Rachel M. Brownstein emphasising that her heroines ‘are not, like Pamela and Clarissa , to be taken seriously as ideals or representatives of womankind’ (Brownstein: 1984, p.90). Brownstein seems to be suggesting that Catherine is not the conduct book model and maybe quite unique in the world of the novel. Irvine appears to support this notion by branding Catherine Morland ‘a type of heroine most familiar to her readers from the novels of Frances Burney’, (Irvine: 2005, p.46) who is often depicted as a young country girl who struggled under the pressures of city life.
            The heroine of Catherine George Ward’s Alice Gray is rather different from Austen’s Catherine. Alice is praised by all from the outset and no-one can accuse her of not being physically beautiful and greatly accomplished. In chapter three, prior to Colonel Gray’s first introduction to his newly discovered relative, the local pastor, Mr. Clifton describes her as ‘one of the most amiable young women I ever remembered to have seen’ (Ward: 1833, p.33 volume 1). Clifton elaborates further gushing that ‘loveliness is her least perfection; it is the intellectual graces of her elegant mind, and that is superior to beauty’ (Ward: 1833, p.33 volume 1). This description cements Alice’s position as heroine in the traditional sense as opposed to Catherine who is very different. The pastor’s view is further confirmed by other characters in the novel, not least the Colonel himself. He refers to her as ‘my pretty Alice’ (Ward: 1833, p.57 volume 1) and compares her to her deceased mother whom he once was intimately attached to before his time in the army. To the Colonel ‘she is an uncommonly lovely creature! but if she inherits a third portion of her mother’s virtues, I shall be satisfied’ (Ward: 1833, p.57 volume 1). Her guardian, the Baronet, Sir John Leamonington is also quick to recognize Alice Gray’s merits. He tells Colonel Gray that ‘she is the sweetest dispositioned girl in the world, with as little vanity as I ever witnessed in so lovely a female’ (Ward: 1833, p.97 volume 1). Like Catherine, Alice goes through a change, maturing during her teens and her graceful and delicate figure, her beauty and loveliness can be plainly seen by the eyes of all, and ‘with her ripening years she discovered a mind, elegant chaste and expressive’ (Ward: 1833, p.80 volume 1). However, unlike Catherine, the mind of her own that Alice discovers as she grows is merely an added bonus to a person already admired by all around her, Catherine is a blank canvas where any change is an improvement. The Gothic tradition so blatantly ignored by Austen is played out in full force by Ward, as she makes her heroine both beautiful and of pleasant disposition in the face of great adversity.
            Though Austen and Ward present very different leading ladies in terms of appearance, both characters share a gullibility and naivety that sees them swept along in the grand schemes of others. Alice Gray is deeply in love with her guardian’s son, Wilford, who for two years has been on a tour of the continent with his tutor. During his absence, she receives news of a marriage contract between her love and a Lady Catherine Howard, arranged prior to his departure. Alice cannot be consoled and is convinced that his earlier professions of love are all forgotten so vows to think of him no more. Wilford is absent in the first volume of the novel therefore the reader is given no clues about his physical appearance until the fourth chapter of volume two. The narrator acknowledges the readers desire for details about his looks and tells them that ‘Now, as a fine and very handsome young man is sometimes one of the most self-conceited, stupid animals in creation, Wilford was certainly not one of that description, for he was neither a very fine or very handsome man; but he was pleasing’ (Ward: 1833, p.160-61 volume 2).  However, on his return from abroad he is desperate to see Alice and decides a clandestine marriage is the only course of action he would be happy with, ‘Wilford thought only of possessing Alice… to marry Alice, that no other man could obtain her for his wife’ (Ward: 1833, p.177 volume 2), but thinks nothing of the consequences. Alice is unsure and knows it is not the right thing to do but she is eventually persuaded by the combination of Wilford’s promises and the pleas of her best friend, Amy. Amy Leamonington is a favourite among all who know her and the pastor, Mr. Clifton is no exception. He describes her as ‘extremely amiable, and has less about her of the family pride than any of them… Miss Leaminington is very much attached to Miss. Gray’ (Ward: 1833 p.39 volume 1). In this sense she may be seen to be very like Eleanor Tilney. She is a solid, positive figure in the heroine’s life that, unlike some others, really cares for her. Amy is ‘tender-hearted, affectionate’ (Ward: 1833 p.19 volume 3) and wholly in favour of Alice and Wilford being united, even if it means making ‘so great a sacrifice of what she owed to parental duty’ (Ward: 1833 p.19 volume 3). But unlike Eleanor Tilney, ‘Amy was not handsome’ (Ward: 1833 p.78 Volume 3). This could be seen as Ward’s reversal of the Northanger Abbey pairing of Catherine and Eleanor. Catherine as the heroine is quite ordinary while Eleanor is very pretty, Ward’s heroine is physically very attractive and her best friend Amy, is not. Similarly, Wilford’s mother, Lady Leamonington manages to convince Alice to do almost whatever she wishes. Alice is employed as an unpaid member of the household staff under Lady Leamonington, who sees to it that she helps to ‘mend and make, attend to Amy when she is ill, and acting in the capacity of a young housekeeper’ (Ward: 1833 p.78 volume 1). The combination of Alice’s unfortunate personal situation and delicate nature make for an easy target for a lady whose ‘natural tone of disposition was cruel, arbitrary and severe’ (Ward: 1833 p.70 volume 1).
            In Northanger Abbey, Catherine Morland’s willingness to indulge in the Gothic fantasies that she reads in novels and project them back onto her own life leads to her naivety. During her journey to the Abbey with the Tinley’s, she is utterly swept away by Henry’s description of her soon to be residence and the horror she might expect. Catherine looks forward to ‘its long, damp passages, its narrow cells and ruined chapel were to be within her daily reach, and she could not entirely subdue the hope of some traditional legends, some awful memorials of and injured and ill-fated nun’ (Austen: 2003, p.134).  Henry Tilney remarks how she appears to ‘have formed a very favourable idea of the abbey’, (Austen: 2003, p.149) before she has ever laid eyes on it, so feeds her fantasy.  He tells Catherine to expect ‘many gloomy passages’, ‘a ponderous chest which no efforts can open’ and ‘Dorothy the ancient housekeeper’ (Austen: 2003, p.150) to lead the way. John Odmark comments on this particular scene as a conflict of two worlds; ‘the world of the romantic, naïve Catherine and that of the more experienced and sensible Henry Tilney’ (Odmark: 1981, p.46). Catherine wants her own life to resemble that of Ann Radcliffe’s heroines, while Henry is in a position as her elder and knows better what life truly involves. In Jane Austen’s Novels: The Art of Clarity, Roger Gard observes that ‘the Catherine who interests Henry and Eleanor Tilney is too human, too really naïve to carry on to herself in this Gothic fashion’ (Gard: 1992 p.58). Throughout the novel, Henry Tilney takes on the role of mentor to Catherine, showing her the error of her ways and how her naivety has so far impaired her judgements. He is shocked to learn she does not keep a journal and is seen by Eleanor to be ’treating you exactly as he does his sister’ (Austen: 2003, p.103) when he corrects her language during their Beechen Cliff walk. It is also Henry who highlights how she has been foolishly projecting her Gothic stories onto the General. Henry implores her to ‘consider the dreadful nature of the suspicions you have entertained’ (Austen: 2003, p.186). Irvine recognises their relationship as an example of ‘a heroine’s relation to a love-mentor, a man who she can love because he is better and more knowledgeable than she is’ (Irvine: 2005, p.67). A second critic, Jan Fergus adds that ‘no other Austen hero is so superior in wit to the heroine’, (Fergus: 1983, p.14) which also makes him like Wilford Leamonington, who is superior to Alice in terms of class, travel and experiences. Catherine’s naivety is evident from the very beginning and it may actually be one of her most endearing qualities, and could be what draws in such vile characters as Isabella and her brother John Thorpe.
            From the moment they meet, Catherine is completely taken in by Isabella and greatly admires her ‘graceful spirit of her walk, the fashionable air of her figure and dress and felt grateful, as well she might, for the chance which has procured her such a friend’ (Austen: 2003, p.33). When Catherine comes into contact with her own brother, James, he too confirms Isabella’s status as a figure to be admired, as she is ‘just the kind of woman I could wish to see you attached to; she has so much good sense, and is so thoroughly unaffected and amiable’ (Austen: 2003, p.49). The later Theodora Leamonington is a perfect match for Isabella Thorpe. Her mother introduces her to Catherine and Mrs. Allen as ‘the tallest is Isabella, my eldest; is not she a fine young woman?… I believe Isabella is the handsomest’ (Austen: 2003, p31). The overly indulgent Mrs. Thorpe adds to Isabella’s perception of her own beauty and status. Isabella proves to be completely selfish, self-absorbed and ‘her own feelings entirely engrossed her’, (Austen: 2003, p.65) when she frequently ignores Catherine in favour of James and the later, Captain Tilney when they step out in Bath together. Hardy sees Isabella’s ‘shallowness and vulgarity, is a rather crude foil to Catherine, who young and impressionable, is eager for her affection and therefore somewhat flattered by her attention’ (Hardy: 1984, p.5). Despite her repeated insistences that she is neither selfish or money orientated, she always proves to be, particularly when she receives news of the fortune that James will receive when they marry. She pretends to Catherine that ‘it is not on my own account I wish for more… For myself, it is nothing; I never think of myself’ (Austen: 2003, p129). Nicola Watson dubs her ‘Austen’s anti-heroine’ (Delia da Sousa Correa: 2000, p.4) . James does of course later learn how inaccurate his perceptions were. Catherine’s attachment to Isabella is part of Terry Eagleton’s discussion of the novel, he says that for him the ‘one problem with Catherine Morland’s naivety is that it forces her to depend on morally unsavoury women like Isabella Thorpe.  She simply does not have enough knowledge of the world to make her own judgments’ (Eagleton: 2005, p.111) . Due to her naivety, she often struggles to correctly judge people and situations and depends upon others, namely Isabella, but over time Mr. and Mrs. Allen to guide her in city etiquette and suitable behaviour. Her first meeting with John Thorpe shows a slightly better judge of character as his ‘manners did not please Catherine’ (Austen: 2003, p.48) which suggests she sees he is not a good person.  However Isabella’s assurances, coupled with her own brother’s high opinion make her suppress her true feelings on the matter, answering enquiries for her thoughts with ‘I like him very much, he seems very agreeable’ (Austen: 2003, p.49). Feminist critics Gilbert and Gubar view John Thorpe as being ‘trapped in the stereotypes of masculinity as [Isabella] is in femininity’ (Gilber and Gubar: 2000, p.130) . He is overtly masculine and can be seen showing off around every corner while Isabella is very feminine in appearance and fits better into the traditional heroine mould than Catherine. For Gilbert and Gubar, ‘the Thorpes represent a nightmarish version of what it means to see oneself as a hero or heroine, they also make Catherine’s life miserable by preying on her gullibility and vulnerability’(Gilbert and Gubar: 2000, p.130) . Odmark also looks at the Catherine/ John relationship, highlighting how ‘Thorpe takes advantage of Catherine’s naivety’ (Odmark: 1981, p.46) . John Thorpe sees Catherine is naive and uses it to bolster his own ego as he can tell all the lies he wishes about what he has seen and done, where he has been and his possessions as it will never occur to Catherine to question him, ‘she is not capable of seriously doubting the veracity of his comments’ (Odmark: 1981, p.46). At this point she has no reason not to trust him so Catherine believes him when he tells her the Tinleys left town in a car not too long ago with no intention of keeping their appointment for a morning walk. In his essay ‘Jane Austen and the Moralists’, Gilbert Ryle refers to her as ‘a gullible ninny about how the actual world runs’ (B. C. Southam: 1968, p.114). Catherine is deemed, by Jan Fergus, to be ‘unique among Austen’s heroines’ (Fergus: 1991, p.95) in her naivety.
            Both girls share the same naivety when it comes to men and marriage and the rules surrounding love. Catherine is ecstatic when she discovers her brother’s engagement to Isabella but fails to comprehend what is happening when Captain Tilney comes on the scene.  Isabella professes to find him ‘such a rattle! – Amusing enough if my mind had been disengaged’, (Austen: 2003, p.127) and refuses to dance with him. She quickly changes her mind and seems to be allowing the Captain to flirt with her, despite her engagement to James. Catherine is not outraged by this, instead she attributes the Captain’s actions to nothing more than consideration for Isabella being sat alone, a notion which seems to amuse Henry Tilney and convince him ‘of your being superior in good nature yourself to all the rest of the world’ (Austen: 2003, p.126). Darren Mansell, author of The Novels of Jane Austen: An Interpretation disagrees with Henry’s view and sees Catherine as ‘simply ignorant.  Because she knows nothing of the world she believes it better than it is’ (Mansell: 1973, p.13).

Alice on the other hand makes mistakes about her own love life. She convinces herself that Wilford has been tempted by some foreign beauty even though he had always believed Alice to be ‘the prettiest girl in the world’ (Ward: 1833, p.184 volume 1). She argues with Amy who is and has for a long time been her closest friend, on the subject of Wilford, his fidelity and Lady Catherine. While Wilford’s displays of chivalry towards Lady Catherine are quite impressive - he continues to let everyone believe he is going to marry her to buy her true love more time in his own divorce proceedings - he is not without fault. The narrator says ‘we don’t intend to make our hero faultless’, (Ward: 1833, p.111 volume 3) and younger sister Amy also confesses ‘I love Wilford, I do not love his faults’ (Ward: 1833, p117 volume 3). Like Henry Tilney whose ‘mysteriousness, which is always so becoming in a hero’, (Austen: 2003, p.35) Wilford is too referred to as a hero by the narrator. Amy insists that Alice cannot just abandon her brother so easily and she must still love him. Alice is greatly incensed by this suggestion and says to Amy, ‘love him indeed! It is a very likely matter, when he is engaged to marry another woman that I should be solicitous to retain his affections, or sigh for a heart which is no longer in my possession’ (Ward: 1833, p.134 volume 2). She is unwilling to listen to the person who knows him best, instead taking second-hand information from Lady Leamonington who is resolutely against any union between Alice and her son.  Catherine George Ward is clearly taking a leaf out of Austen’s book in some aspects of her heroine. Their naivety and gullibility makes them endearing characters who readers sympathize with and want to get to know.
            Both novels introduce a vast array of other characters for the heroines to encounter on their journeys, some of which have already been mentioned. The Leamonington family has been Alice’s surrogate family since the death of her parents and grandmother. Mr. Clifton tells Colonel Gray what ‘a most amiable family they are’ (Ward: 1833, p.35 volume 1). The Baronet is the official guardian of Alice and receives rave reviews from all those who know him. The narrator paints a picture of ‘a fine looking man, though considerably above fifty, with a somewhat austere countenance and cast of features, but of the most gentlemanly and grateful department’ (Ward: 1833, p.64 volume 1). His favourite child is youngest daughter Amy, who like Alice is intelligent, kind, and an accomplished singer and musician. He has an equal soft spot for Alice and at first glance is the protector, telling her he ‘should not have resigned you so willingly to the hands of any other protector than your uncle’ (Ward: 1833, p.60 volume 2) as she is preparing for the move to Moss Side. Despite this, he falls quite neatly into the role of Gothic tyrant. He lives in a huge mansion, which may be considered Gothic and is constantly in the presence of three young virgins, one of which he sees fit to terrorize at every given opportunity. He scolds eldest child Theodora for seemingly unnecessary things, for instance, ‘the uncommonly late hour in which they chose to make themselves visible, particularly as the beautiful Dora had thought proper to bring Venus hanging on her arm’ (Ward: 1833, p.215 volume 1). Theodora reacts badly to her fathers reprimands as she has grown used to being’ the idol of both her father and her mother, in the supposition that all who are dazzled with her beauty will become captive to her charms’ (Ward: 1833, p.40 volume 1). Her mother, Lady Leamonington is encouraging of her behaviour which others may see as negative, and gave ‘express orders that her teachers were not to dim the lustre of her fine eyes’ (Ward: 1833, p.73 volume 1). It seems that as she has grown and reached womanhood, she has become ‘nothing more of less than a beautiful statue’ (Ward: 1833 p.74 volume 1). As always, Mr. Clifton has an opinion to offer but it is nothing like the positive reflections he has on other characters. He tells the Colonel that he would never wish for a child like her because, beautiful though she may be, she is actually ‘the most revolting to a man of sense, delicacy, or feeling’, (Ward: 1833 p.39 volume 1) making her very like Austen’s Isabella. Her father, Sir John is quite obsessed with ancestry and is motivated by money. Mr. Clifton admits to Colonel Gray that the Baronet’s only propensity is that he is ‘too proud of the decent of his family, consequently does not visit much with those whom he thinks cannot boast of the same family honours and distinctions’ (Ward: 1833 p.35 volume 1). It is for this reason that any mention of a connection between Alice and Wilford send him into a blind rage. Alice is poor and has no inheritance to speak of as her father was a gambling addict who, over time spent all the family money and had to sell their home to repay his debts. His wife expresses her fears about their son and Alice which until that point, had never entered his head, causing

            the pride of family decent completely arousing his dormant faculties,
            he exclaimed - “Of what are you afraid, Fanny, that is at all concerned
            with Alice Gray and Wilford Leamonington? Zounds and fury! Is Alice
            a fit match for my son, who will be the representative of one of the
            most noble, the most ancient and the most honourable families in all
            Wales? (Ward: 1833 p.207 volume 1)

While he is willing to look out for Alice, her ancestry and fortune are by no means good enough for his son. Wilford is of slightly different opinion however, he tells his tutor that ‘My father shall never prevent me from marrying the woman I do love, or compel me to marry a woman I do not love’ (Ward: 1833 p.67 volume 2). His ancestral tyranny continues with his daughters, as Lady Leamonington knows, and sees fit to inform the two girls that ‘your father would neither permit you or Dora to marry a man who has no considerable property, and that could not afford to keep you in the style of elegance and fashion in which you were born’ (Ward: 1833 p.8 volume 2). Their obsession reaches its limit when Alice’s uncle dies and leaves her in possession of the house at Moss Side, as well as his fortune and some money from both her mother and her grandmother, now ‘Alice will be anything but destitute’ (Ward: 1833 p.128 volume 3). Lady Leamonington begins to come round to the idea of a union between Wilford and Alice as on top of the Colonel’s expensive books and pictures, ‘Alice was no longer poor, even if Wilford married her: this had some weight with her ladyship’ (Ward: 1833 p.231 volume 1). The Baronet requires some convincing in the shape of Lady Catherine’s father, the Marquis of Trevairs and a gift of ten thousand pounds to Alice Gray ‘for the disappointment his son had received in not marrying his darling Kate’ (Ward: 1833 p. 235 volume 3). He is anything but displeased with the broken marriage contract and news of a clandestine marriage, and readily forgives his son. The money form the Marquis cushions the blow and elevates Alice’s status and wealth, making him forget all about her gambling father, she is after all part of ‘the once ancient and honourable house of Gray’ (Ward: 1833 p.16 volume 1).
            The character of General Tilney could easily have been used as a template for sir John Leamonington in his Gothic tyranny and ancestry concerns. Like Sir John, General Tilney starts out as a protector to Catherine when he invites her away from town and the people she knows to stay at Northanger Abbey with his family. He is full of compliments for Catherine and asks that she ‘honour us with a visit, you will make us happy beyond expression’, (Austen: 2003, p.132) and expresses his admiration of her to John Thorpe at the theatre. Once at the Abbey, he continues to be attentive and complementary but his need to associate with the best company begins to show before they leave Bath. Various critics have identified the General’s apparent need to be properly connected and recognised as being above, as does Sir John. Marilyn Butler, who is one such critic, writes that ‘General Tilney should behave like a responsible patriarch, but of course he does not, he merely competes with his neighbours in the acquisition of china breakfast services, kitchen gadgets and greenhouses’ (Butler: 1981, p.106). The General’s true character is exposed at numerous points throughout the novel, for instance, he treatment of his eldest child is harsh to say the least after he is late out of bed, as does the Baronet in Alice Gray. The true extent of his tyranny is not exposed until Henry’s account at the very end of the novel, which he gives at Fullerton after defying his father and seeking out Catherine anyway. Here, it comes to light that Catherine was only invited to Northanger due to John Thorpe’s own vanity and desire to appear well connected, earning favour with the General, which leads him to ‘represent the [Morland] family as yet more wealthy’ (Austen: 2003, p.228) than he actually believed them to be. In his book which looks at the heroines of Jane Austen’s novels, John Hardy identifies the General as proving to be ‘sufficiently a monster by being so basely motivated by greed’(Hardy: 1984, p.16). He thought Catherine was wealthy so saw her as a good potential match for his son, Henry who ‘was rather tall, had a pleasing countenance, a very intelligent and lively eye, and, if not quite handsome, was very near it’ (Austen: 2003, p.25).
            John Thorpe’s second misinterpretation of Catherine is also documented in Henry’s explanation at Fullerton, and is given as the reason for her being so unceremoniously expelled from Northanger Abbey. John is hurt and embarrassed when his wishes to marry Catherine are not reciprocated, so he ‘hastened to contradict all that he had said before to the advantage of the Morlands’ (Austen: 2003, p.229). The General’s undeniably cruel treatment of Catherine stems from incorrect information offered by the second villain of the piece, John Thorpe. The editor of Jane Austen: A Collection of Critical Essays, Ian Watt quotes Alan D. McKillop who compares the General’s rude banishing of Catherine to ’a pretty good imitation of Montoni in real life, the British sub-variety of the Gothic tyrant’ (Watt: 1963, p.61). The General’s wish for a good marriage connection for his son matches that of the Baronet, though he does not go as far as to send Alice away. As with Alice and Wilford, any potential marriage of Catherine and Henry is forbidden by the tyrant patriarch, and like sir John, General Tilney’s mind is changed with some gentle persuasion of the financial kind. At the end of the novel, news comes of Eleanor’s marriage to ‘a man of fortune and consequence’ (Austen: 2003, p.233). This happy and financially beneficial union leads to the General consenting to the marriage of Catherine and Henry. If the marriages are temporarily pushed to one side, Eleanor is exposed as a truly Gothic heroine, maybe more so than Catherine. General Tilney forbids her marriage until her potential husband acquired some fortune of his own. Julia Prewitt Brown agrees with this view, casting Eleanor as ‘precisely the heroine whom Catherine fails to be on the first page of the novel’ (Brown: 1979, p.56). Eleanor’s ‘good figure, pretty face, and a very agreeable countenance’ (Austen: 2003, p.54) immediately attract the notice of Catherine who is determined to get to know her as well as her brother. She goes off to the Pump-room with renewed excitement, determined to ‘improve her acquaintance with Miss Tilney’ (Austen: 2003, p.54). Eleanor’s distress is evident when she has to relay the message of her imminent departure to Catherine, as is her embarrassment when extending the invitation to begin with. Her tyrannical father had her imprisoned in the Abbey with no society other than her brother or himself, as well as stopping her from marrying the man of her choice. Add to this her absent mother, and Brown’s theory is proved right.
            When comparing the two families, definite parallels appear, particularly between the two heads of the households, the Baronet and General Tilney. Jane Austen’s novel satirizes the Gothic and sentimental traditions so had to make the General appear to be a true Gothic villain. The majority of critics agree with this, however some, for example Terry Eagleton, present an alternative opinion. Eagleton says that while the General ‘may not be a Gothic villain, he is unmasked as a callous domestic tyrant’ (Eagleton: 2005, p.114). The Baronet also matches this description as most of his terrorising happens in the domestic environment. The most beautiful of all the character is nothing more than a selfish child, with a mother who only inflates her ego, while the younger is exceedingly kind and considerate and a true friend. Finally, the two heroes, Henry and Wilford, neither of who are defiantly handsome but of pleasing and polite disposition seem to come from a similar mould.
            The two separate settings of the town and domestic, family home feature heavily in both of the novels. In her introduction to the Penguin edition of Northanger Abbey, Marilyn Butler speculates how Austen’s own ‘experience of tourist’s and visitor’s Bath visibly enriches the first twenty of the novel’s thirty chapters, which are set in the public rooms, the nearby streets and the walks and drives within easy reach’ (Austen: 2003, xi). Mandal agrees with Butler, dating the Bath scenes as ‘post-1800, considering that Austen’s residence there commenced in May 1801’ (Mandal: 2007, p.62). Catherine Morland’s own stay in town comes courtesy of Mr. and Mrs. Allen who are aware that ‘if adventures will not befall a young lady in her own village, she must seek them abroad’ (Austen: 2003, p.18). From here, the first half of the novel is occupied by the goings on at Bath and the reader is offered Catherine’s view of the town numerous times. When questioned by Henry Tilney about how she likes Bath she tells him ‘I like it very well’ (Austen: 2003, p.26) and later they have a second conversation on the subject when he wants to know if her opinion has changed. Having seen what Bath has to offer: the Pump-room, the play, the opera, and dancing in the Upper-rooms, she admits to liking it ‘more so, indeed’, (Austen: 2003, p.75) and does not think ‘I should be tired of it, if I were to stay here six months’ (Austen: 2003, p.75). Mrs. Allen supports her view as

            ‘it is just the place for young people - and indeed for every body else
            too. I tell Mr. Allen, when he talks of being sick of it, that I am sure
            he should not complain, for it is so very agreeable a place, that it is
            much better to be here than at home at this dull time of year’.
            (Austen: 2003, p.75)

Bath was very popular in the latter half of the eighteenth century and functioned as a ‘watering-place’. This phrase is defined by Nicola Watson as ‘somewhere people went to drink or bath in the waters for the relief of various ailments’ (Delia da Sousa Correa: 2000, p.43). On top of this, it also served as a gathering place for the fashionable to assemble during the winter season. The reader is shown the exciting things to do in Bath in great detail by Austen and is allowed to experience the balls, the beautiful dresses and extravagant hair styles as well as make new acquaintances along with Catherine.
            Catherine George Ward’s portrayal of the town setting bares some resemblance to Austen’s. There is no evidence to suggest Ward herself was a visitor to town as Austen had been, so it is likely that her sources for such information were the novels of her peers. In Alice Gray, the town remains a fashionable destination and the Leamonington’s are not ‘much at the Hill during the winter season; they are generally in town, at that inclement time of the year’ (Ward: 1833 p.37 volume 1). Lady Leamonington makes assumptions about the Colonel’s intentions regarding town, presuming that he means to go, come the winter season as it ’is so natural a conclusion. Everybody of taste goes to town in winter; for my own part, I could not exist without it; I should perfectly die of ennui’ (Ward: 1833 p.91 volume 1). The Colonel is quick to correct her and voice his own, opposing view, which he earlier shared with Mr. Clifton and the reader. Colonel Gray does not like the prospect of Alice going to town as if ‘girls at her age go to fashionable parties and amusements too soon - apt to dazzle their senses, and mislead their judgment’ (Ward: 1833 p.37 volume 1). In this sense, the Colonel is showing the same concern for his niece as Mrs. Morland expresses for her daughter before going off to face the ‘difficulties and dangers’ (Austen: 2003, p.19) of town. At the beginning of volume two, Theodora can be seen praying for the end of summer as she professes to hate everything about summer and Rose Hill, but ‘I do love town, and balls, and plays, and the darling opera’ (Ward: 1833 p.4 volume 2). Though the town in Ward’s novel is not named, the mention of Pall-Mall suggests she may have sent her characters to London, and without any first-hand experience, would almost certainly have taken her queue from Austen. However, unlike Northanger Abbey, none of the action in Alice Gray takes place a the mentioned public places. The play and the opera are talked about but the inside is never seen by the reader.
            The domestic sphere takes up the entire second half of Northanger Abbey. Henry Tilney highlights the difference in necessary dress and preparation for meal times between the two settings. When Catherine enquires about the time so she can go and dress, Henry reminds her ‘you are not now in Bath. No theatre, no room to prepare for. Half an hour at Northanger must be enough’ (Austen: 2003, p.184). This is echoed in the General’s description of one particular room within the Abbey where he emphasises the ‘smallness of the room and simplicity of the furniture, where everything being for daily use, pretended only to comfort’ (Austen: 2003, p.153). There are some much grander rooms which Catherine comes to learn as she settles in and gets time to explore. As she is left to her own devices and allowed to look around, she uses the setting to formulate her own Gothic horror story. She succeeds in terrorising herself by believing Henry’s tale about a hidden manuscript, watching to be found at the back of a heavy wooden chest. Add to this the General’s terrorising of his own daughter, and Austen is well within the realms of the Gothic novel. Nicola Watson writes that Austen is working within the genre of the Radcliffian Gothic which is ‘essentially domestic, speaking of horrors committed against women in the home’ (Delia da Sousa Correa: 2000, p.53). Austen looks briefly at two other domestic residences beside the Abbey - the Morland’s Fullerton and Henry’s Woodston. Both are set in small villages showing, as Butler puts it, Austen’s ‘preference for the tightly enclosed, familiar, intimately English range of subject, ‘three of four families in a country village’ (Butler: 1981, p.85). Henry’s Woodston is a house which ‘stands among fine meadows facing south-east, with an excellent kitchen garden… It is a family living’ (Austen: 2003, p.166). Not much of Woodston is seen during Catherine’s brief visit but the reader is assured of its beauty. Fullerton is also quite illusive and the reader is not told much about it only that it is in the country. Butler describes it as a ‘shabby vicarage’ (Austen: 2003, xiv) which, considering Catherine’s class, is probably accurate. Through it all, Austen still shows herself as having an ‘outlook [which] profoundly favours the gentry’ (Butler: 1981, p.105). She does not however flatter them or praise their ways, instead she is ‘critical of the current practice of her class’ (Butler: 1981, p.105) and perhaps the division of the novel between the two realms shows this.
            Much of the action seen by the reader in Alice Gray takes place within the Leamonington’s Rose Hill. The narrator describes it as a ‘splendid mansion’ (Ward: 1833 p.47 volume 1) and talks of the ‘beautiful and romantic scenery which on every side surrounded the elegant residence of Sir John Leamonington’ (Ward: 1833 p.47 volume 1). Much of the description of Rose Hill complies with this formula of focusing more on the outside and the grounds than the interior of the building, so, whether it may be described as a Gothic building remains unclear. There is however, a lengthy description of the Rose Hill dining room as it appears when prepared to receive the Colonel. The narrator paints the picture of ‘a spacious and elegant’ (Ward: 1833 p.67 volume 1) room, which was ‘more the appearance of a princely establishment than that of a private gentleman’ (Ward: 1833 p.67). This room at Rose Hill and the real drawing room at Northanger are quite similar. The drawing room is ‘magnificent both in size and furniture’ (Austen: 2003, p.172) and was ‘used only with company of consequence’ (Austen: 2003, p.172) . As with the Bath scenes, Ward’s description of the interior of her grand house seems to take inspiration from Austen. The Gray family home is mentioned only briefly but is also depicted mostly in terms of the outside.

In their essay ‘Northanger Abbey: contexts’, Brooks and Wilson outline the criteria that must be fulfilled to transform the novel into a sentimental novel;

            It boasts a heroine (more rarely a hero) whose main characteristic is
            an abundance of refined and virtuous feeling. The action consists in
            her misfortunes and vicissitudes, in one way or another brought about
            as a consequence of social convention. It may culminate in a
            tear-jerking death scene, or in a happy marriage.
            (Delia da Sousa Correa: 2000, p.66)
           
Using this description, it is possible to identify elements in both novels which fit in with the sentimental, the most obvious being that both depict the journey of a heroine. It is also plausible to say that the action consists of certain misfortunes experienced by the heroine - Alice is a destitute orphan who consents to a clandestine marriage as it’s the only way to be with the man she love, while Catherine is thrust into a host of unfamiliar situations and outcast because she is not wealthy. Austen is known to have admired the work of Samuel Johnson and Gary Kelly suggests that her heroines may actually be like the sentimental heroine who ‘strives to perform the task of criticism as defined by one of Austen’s favourite moral writers, Samuel Johnson: ‘to improve opinion into knowledge’ (Kelly: 1993, p.182). Despite the obvious elements of sentimentality, it is possible that, as Janet Todd suggests Austen’s novels are in fact forming an attack on the female sentimental novel. Todd states that in Austen’s novels ‘the clichés of sentimental fiction are overturned: mothers are vulgar and limited, sentimental friends are a sham, and orphans prove not to be noble but lower middle class’ (Todd: 1986, p.144). Mrs. Morland assumes all her daughters troubles can be fixed by reading one of her hand selected passages, Isabella proves to be no friend at all and, while there are no true orphans in the novel, Catherine is put in that position and is certainly not part of the nobility. Considering the fact that Ward seems to be using Austen’s fiction as a template for her own, some of the same elements are evident. Lady Leamonington is definitely vulgar and limited, concerning herself only with clothes and her beautiful Dora, and orphan Alice spends much of the novel destitute and of a lower class.
            The novel had to ‘do’ certain things in the eighteenth and early nineteenth century in order for it to be considered a novel, a point both writers would have been aware of as ‘the effect of undisciplined reading on a young woman was a recurring concern’ (Irvine: 2005, p.42). The conduct book, popular with writers such as Samuel Johnson was viewed as being truly safe for young women to read as literature functioned not only as entertainment, but also as a medium of education and exhibiting appropriate behaviours. This tradition established meant that Austen could write Northanger Abbey accordingly, as could Ward who shows the perils of clandestine marriages both in Alice’s distress and Mr. Clifton’s flashback about his sister Ellen who was in the same situation. As Elaine Showalter points out, ‘Jane Austen was an early favourite of male critics, recommended, like a priggish elder sister, to unruly siblings and apprentices’(Showalter: 1999, p.102). The male critics felt her characters set a good example and showed how virtuous behaviour is eventually rewarded. Richard Whatley was a contemporary critic who saw novels as ‘satisfactory guides to moral propriety, replacing the eighteenth-century’s conduct books’ (Mandal: 2007, p.209). For him, Austen’s novel fulfilled his expectations for the novel in its ‘muted, rather than overt, didacticism’ (Mandal: 2007, p.209). Finally, it is important to recognise the domestic as a feature, particularly in Alice Gray: A Domestic Novel. Some critics suggest that the domestic novel ‘can be credited with strengthening and shaping the female reader’s aspirations to matter, to make something special of herself’ (Browstein: 1984, xix). The domestic novel proves to normal women that she can be more and have a better life. Alice Gray’s appalling luck changes at the end of the novel where she acquires fortune enough to marry the man she wants. As for Austen, she is dubbed a domestic writer by most critics, with Julia Prewitt Brown suggesting her lack of knowledge about ‘the “great world”, of history, and poverty and royalty, and that her ignorance dictated her choice of a domestic subject’ (Brown: 1979, p.1). Brown feels that her lack of awareness of anything other than what happens in the home means she has no choice but to fall into domesticity. Later writers, including the Brontes rebelled against the domestic and ‘saw their work as a reaction against the tradition of domestic fiction exemplified by Jane Austen’ (Armstrong: 1987, p.191).
            After looking at the construction of both novels in terms of the characters, the settings, genre and the implied conventions, it is plausible to suggest a relationship between the first of Austen’s novels and Ward’s final publication. The heroines bare a striking resemblance in terms of their unfortunate situations, kind nature and favourable disposition and love for unavailable men. The two heroes follow suit with both Henry Tilney and the later Wilford Leamonington assuming the role of mentor to their gullible and naïve prodigy. The Baronet, Sir John Leamonington is almost an exact replica of General Tilney just as Theodora Leamonington is the duplicate of anti-heroine, Isabella Thorpe. Both Ward and Austen use the domestic, Gothic, the conduct-book tradition and the sentimental to enrich their works and use the conventions which are part of them. There is less of a sense of irony about Ward’s writing but a critique of nineteenth century society, particularly the nobility comes through. Austen’s influence on Ward is evident in many components of the novel, though some are modified to mark the changing times.

 
Bibliography
ARMSTRONG, Nancy, Desire and Domestic Fiction: A Political History of the Novel (Oxford University Press: Oxford, 1987)
AUSTEN, Jane, Northanger Abbey (Penguin Books: London, 2005)
BROWN, Julia Prewitt, Jane Austen’s Novels: Social Change and Literary Form (Harvard University Press: USA, 1979)
BROWNSTEIN, Rachel M. Becoming a Heroine: Reading about Women in Novels (Penguin Books Ltd: Middlesex, 1984)
BUTLER, Marilyn, Romantics, Rebels and Reactionaries: English Literature and its Background 1760-1830 (Oxford University Press: Oxford, 1981)
CORREA, Delia do Sousa, The Nineteenth - Century Novel: Realisms (Routledge: London, 2000)
EAGLETON, Terry, The English Novel: An Introduction (Blackwell Publishing: USA, 2005)
FERGUS, Jan, Jane Austen and the Didactic Novel: Northanger Abbey, Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice (Barnes and Noble Books: New Jersey, 1983)
------, Jane Austen: A Literary Life (The Macmillan Press Limited: London, 1991)
GARD, Roger, Jane Austen’s Novels: The Art of Clarity (Yale University Press: New Haven and London, 1992)
GILBERT, Sandra M. & Susan Gubar, The Madwoman in the Attic: The Woman Writer and Nineteenth Century Literary Imagination (Yale University Press: USA, 2000)
HARDY, John, Jane Austen’s Heroines: Intimacy in Human Relationships (Routledge and Kegan Paul plc: London, 1984)
IRVINE, Robert P. Jane Austen (Routledge: Oxon, 2005)
KELLY, Gary, Women, Writing and Revolution 1790-1827 (Oxford University Press: Oxford, 1993)
MANDAL, Anthony, Jane Austen and the Popular Novel: The Determined Author (Palgrave Macmillan: Hampshire, 2007)
MANSELL, Darren, The Novels of Jane Austen: An Interpretation (The Macmillan Press Limited: London, 1973)
MAXWELL, Richard & Katie Trumpner (eds.), The Cambridge Companion to Fiction in the Romantic Period (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 2008)
ODMARK, John, An Understanding of Jane Austen’s Novels: Character, Value and Ironic Perspective (Basil Blackwell Publisher: Oxford, 1981)
SHAW, Harry E. Narrating Reality Austen, Scoot, Eliot (Cornell University Press: New York, 1999)
SHOWALTER, Elaine, A Literature of their Own from Charlotte Bronte to Doris Lessing (Virago Press: London, 1999)
SOUTHAM, B. C. (ed.), Critical Essays on Jane Austen (Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd: 1968)
TODD, Janet, Sensibility: An Introduction (Methuen & Co. Ltd: London, 1986)
WARD, Catherine George, Alice Gray: A Domestic Novel (Newman: London, 1833)
WATT, Ian (ed.), Jane Austen: A Collection of Critical Essays (Prentice - Hall Inc: USA, 1963)

Annotated Bibliography
Academy and Literature, ‘Academy Questions and Answers’ 1696 (Nov. 1904) p.417 British Periodicals [online] <http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&>
Archives of the Royal Literary Fund (World Microfilm Publications: London, 1984) RLF file 344
ARMSTRONG, Nancy, Desire and Domestic Fiction: A Political History of the Novel (Oxford University Press: Oxford, 1987)
Very useful for information on the novel form in general.
AUSTEN, Jane, Northanger Abbey (Penguin Books: London, 2005)
BEHRENDT, Stephen C. ‘Critical Essay’ (Scottish Women Poets of the Romantic Period <www.alexanderstreet2.com>)
Focuses on Ward’s poetry and provides some biographical information.
BLAIN, Virginia, Patricia Clements & Isobel Grundy, The Feminist Companion to Literature in English (B. T. Batsford: London, 1990)
Provides a decent amount of biographical information and some publication history.
BROWN, Julia Prewitt, Jane Austen’s Novels: Social Change and Literary Form (Harvard University Press: USA, 1979)
BROWNSTEIN, Rachel M. Becoming a Heroine: Reading about Women in Novels (Penguin Books Ltd: Middlesex, 1984)
Provides details on more heroine than just those in Austen’s novels so is a good point for comparison.
BUTLER, Marilyn, Romantics, Rebels and Reactionaries: English Literature and its Background 1760-1830 (Oxford University Press: Oxford, 1981)
Useful points on Austen as well as the novel as a mode of writing in England.
CLERY, E. J. Caroline Franklin and Peter Garside, Authorship, Commerce and the Public (Palgrave Macmillan: Hampshire, 2002)
Mentions Catherine George Ward in relation to the Royal Literary Fund.
CORREA, Delia da Sousa, The Nineteenth - Century Novel: Realisms (Routledge: London, 2000)
Contains various essays on ‘Northanger Abbey’ but doesn’t mention Ward.
CRAWFORD, Anne, et al, The Europa Biographical Dictionary of British Women: Over 1000 Notable Women from Britains Past (Gale Research,1983)
No mention
EAGLETON, Terry, The English Novel: An Introduction (Blackwell Publishing: USA, 2005)
FERGUS, Jan, Jane Austen and the Didactic Novel: Northanger Abbey, Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice (Barnes and Noble Books: New Jersey, 1983)
------, Jane Austen: A Literary Life (The Macmillan Press Limited: London, 1991)
GARD, Roger, Jane Austen’s Novels: The Art of Clarity (Yale University Press: New Haven and London, 1992)
GILBERT, Sandra M. & Susan Gubar, The Madwoman in the Attic: The Woman Writer and Nineteenth Century Literary Imagination (Yale University Press: USA, 2000)
Presents some interesting and alternative points on Austen and also novels in a wider sense.
HARDY, John, Jane Austen’s Heroines: Intimacy in Human Relationships (Routledge and Kegan Paul plc: London, 1984)
IRVINE, Robert P. Jane Austen (Routledge: Oxon, 2005)
JACKSON, J. R. de J. Romantic Poetry by Women A Bibliography 1770-1835 (Oxford University Press: Oxford, 1993)
Very brief biography and a list of poetry with publication details.
KELLY, Gary, Women, Writing and Revolution 1790-1827 (Oxford University Press: Oxford, 1993)
No direct mention of Catherine George Ward or the novel ‘Alice Gray’ but helps to gain a sense of the period as a whole.
KUNITZ, Stanley J. and Howard Haycraft, British Authors of the Nineteenth Century (H. W. Wilson, 1934)
No mention
Literary Gazette, ‘Advertisement’ 873 (Oct. 1833) p.655 British Periodicals [online] http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&
MANDAL, A. A. ‘Ward, Catherine George (b. 1787)’ (Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: Oxford University Press, 2004 http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/63270)
Detailed biographical information.
MANDAL, Anthony, Jane Austen and the Popular Novel: The Determined Author (Palgrave Macmillan: Hampshire, 2007)
Catherine George Ward is referred to on page 215.
MANSELL, Darren, The Novels of Jane Austen: An Interpretation (The Macmillan Press Limited: London, 1973)
MAXWELL, Richard & Katie Trumpner (eds.), The Cambridge Companion to Fiction in the Romantic Period (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 2008)
Brief mention of Ward in a list of early nineteenth century publications.
ODMARK, John, An Understanding of Jane Austen’s Novels: Character, Value and Ironic Perspective (Basil Blackwell Publisher: Oxford, 1981)
SHAW, Harry E. Narrating Reality Austen, Scoot, Eliot (Cornell University Press: New York, 1999)
SHATTOCK, Joanne, The Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature: Volume 4 1800-1900 (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 1999)
Provides a full bibliography of all Ward’s published works, verse and tales included.
SHOWALTER, Elaine, A Literature of their Own from Charlotte Bronte to Doris Lessing (Virago Press: London, 1999)
SOUTHAM, B. C. (ed.), Critical Essays on Jane Austen (Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd: 1968)
SUMMERS, Montague, A Gothic Bibliography (The Fortune Press: London, 1964)
Brief biographical information and gives some more original information that I did not see elsewhere. Concludes with a detailed list of Catherine George Ward’s poetry and novels.
TODD, Janet (ed.), Dictionary of British Women Writers (Routledge: London, 1989)
No mention
TODD, Janet, Sensibility: An Introduction (Methuen & Co. Ltd: London, 1986)
Lots of information on sensibility and very useful when identifying the conventions to look for.
WARD, Catherine George, Alice Gray: a domestic novel (1832)
WATT, Ian (ed.), Jane Austen: A Collection of Critical Essays (Prentice - Hall Inc: USA, 1963)

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