Northanger Abbey. Illustrated by Paul Hardy. London: Blackie and Son, 1903. First Edition Thus. Publisher’s blue cloth boards with art nouveau decoration in gilt. Pale stain to upper covers, light shelf-wear to boards, otherwise a good copy. Prize Presentation bookplate on front paste down.

An uncommon edition of this work, with three uncoloured plates by Paul Hardy in the text.

A parody of Gothic novels, Northanger Abbey follows the imaginative Catherine Morland, whose trip to Bath and a Gothic abbey teaches her to distinguish between fantasy and the realities of life and love.

Paul Hardy (1862–1942) was a prolific British illustrator and painter. One of his most significant contributions to book illustration is the series of colour plates he created for J.M. Dent’s 1892 edition of The Novels of Jane Austen. His illustrations for Northanger Abbey and other Austen titles are well-known examples of his elegant, character-focused style.