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Northanger Abbey Enrichment Pack

Contents

3 Characters

4 Synopsis

6 The Play

7 Themes

8 Adaptations

9 Q&A with Playwright, Tim Luscombe

12 Historical and Cultural Context

14 The Direct Address

15 Enrichment Activities

19 Etiquette in regency society Appendix 1

3

Characters

Catherine Morland

The protagonist of the novel

Henry Tilney

The object of Henry’s affection

General Tilney

The despotic father of Henry, Miss Tilney and Captain Tilney

Eleanor Tilney

Henry’s sister, Miss Tilney is

also a loyal and devoted friend

to Catherine

John Thorpe

Isabella’s brother

Isabella Thorpe

An ambitious young woman

who befriends Catherine in

Bath

Frederick Tilney

The oldest child of the Tilney

family

James Morland

Catherine’s brother

Mrs Thorpe

Isabella’s mother

Mr and Mrs Allen

A wealthy, childless older

couple who host Catherine at

Bath

Emily St Aubert

Character from the novel The Mysteries of Udolpho

Mr and Mrs Morland

and family

Valancourt

Character from the novel

The Mysteries of Udolpho

Count Morano

Character from the novel

The Mysteries of Udolpho

St Aubert

Character from the novel

The Mysteries of Udolpho

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Synopsis

A heroine...

Catherine, the eldest daughter of a clergyman, and one of a large family, is

invited by a kind neighbour, Mrs Allen, to accompany her and her husband on a

six week trip to Bath; Mr Allen has been sent there by his doctor to 'take the

waters' to cure his gout. Catherine is delighted and off they go.

She is soon introduced to Henry Tilney and, after dancing and talking with him,

starts to have a romantic feelings for him. Also, very soon she also soon

becomes very close friends with Isabella, the beautiful and confident daughter of

Mrs Allen’s old friend, Mrs Thorpe. The two young ladies are soon inseparable

and discover that their brothers know each other at Oxford. Mr Tilney, in the

meantime, seems to have disappeared; Catherine watches out for him over the

next few days; she doesn't spot him and her admiration for him grows all the

more.

The Gothic novel

Catherine is greatly in awe of Isabella, who introduces

her to The Mysteries of Udolpho, a novel in the romantic

and dramatic Gothic style which is popular at this period.

The two young ladies spend their time alternately

discussing novels and looking out for suitable young men.

Their respective elder brothers arrive in Bath; Isabella is

particularly struck with the charms of James Morland, but

Catherine is less keen on John Thorpe, who is an

arrogant bore and seems to talk of nothing but horses.

Mr Tilney reappears with his sister at a dance, which

overwhelms Catherine, though she has to decline his

invitation to dance, as she had been previously engaged

to dance with John Thorpe. She is highly indignant when

Mr Thorpe only emerges from the card room long after

the dance has started and becomes determined to know

Henry and his sister better.

Miss Morland and the Tilneys

To fulfil their own selfish objectives, both John Thorpe and Isabella do their

utmost to prevent Catherine from meeting with the Tilneys. Nevertheless, she

succeeds at getting closer with them and they invite her to go with them to their

home, Northanger Abbey. With romantic visions of eerie rooms and haunted

passageways, Catherine excitedly accepts the invitation.

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An engagement

James Morland proposes to Isabella Thorpe and is accepted. He obtains his father's

consent to their marriage, but it cannot take place until he takes orders as a priest

in two years' time. The lovers settle down to wait. Meanwhile, Captain Tilney,

Henry Tilney's elder brother, arrives in Bath and starts flirting with Isabella.

When Catherine arrives at Northanger Abbey, having been teased by Henry into

thinking it would be as gloomy and as Gothic as she had imagined, she is

disappointed to learn that it had been modernised. However, determined to let her

imagination run wild, she begins to suspect the General to have murdered his wife

or imprisoned her in some remote attic. Henry discovers what she is thinking and

puts a stop to such nonsense. She soon learns this is not the case.

Isabella's true colours

Catherine receives an upsetting letter from her brother James, to say that his

engagement to Isabella is over and that she is now engaged to Captain Tilney.

What is more, even though the General has made some very clear hints that he

should like her to marry his son. Henry does not seem that way inclined.

Catherine then receives a letter from Isabella, which gives the news that Captain

Tilney has left Bath and they are not engaged. Isabella entreats Catherine for help,

but she ignores the request. The Tilneys are relieved that their brother is not to

marry Isabella, but Catherine is still regretful that she ever made a friend of

Isabella.

The General

General Tilney goes away to London and on his return orders

Catherine to return directly to her home. Catherine is

distraught, not knowing what she has done to offend the

General, but she has no choice and leaves as instructed.

Two days later, Henry arrives at Catherine's home. He

declares his love for her and asks her to marry him; she

joyfully accepts. The General's fury at Catherine is

explained; he had been led to believe, by John Thorpe, that

she was an heiress to a considerable fortune, so he

encouraged Henry to court her. It has now been made clear to him that this is not

the case, so he has ordered Henry not to think of her again. Henry takes no notice

and promptly proposes to Catherine.

Everyone is made happy

The General refuses his consent to Henry’s and Catherine’s marriage and

Catherine's parents will not give theirs until his is obtained. Then Eleanor

announces her engagement to a Viscount and the General is so delighted by her

marriage to a man she not only loves, but who is titled, landed and rich, he relents

and gives Henry and Catherine his consent. Henry and Catherine are married; the

General discovers her family were not as poor or as objectionable as he thought

they were and everyone is happy.

Synopsis Continued...

6

Northanger Abbey: The Play

Playwright, Tim Luscombe, talks about his responsibility to keep faithful

to the original text whilst focusing on Catherine’s ’teenage angst’ and

the central love story in order to draw in dramatic tension.

From Chapter II of the novel….

After some time they received an offer of tea from one

of their neighbours; it was thankfully accepted, and this

introduced a light conversation with the gentleman who

offered it, which was the only time that anybody spoke to

them during the evening, till they were discovered and

joined by Mr Allen when the dance was over.

“Well, Miss Morland,” said he, directly, “I hope you

have had an agreeable ball.”

“Very agreeable indeed,” she replied, vainly

endeavouring to hide a great yawn.

“I wish she had been able to dance,” said his wife; “I wish we could have got a partner for her”.

Here we learn of Catherine’s disappointment not to have interacted with Bath society during the ball or to have been invited to dance by a young gentleman. Notice, if we compare this excerpt from the novel to the corresponding excerpt from the script, we are offered up the unique insight into Catherine’s Gothic and dramatic imagination, as the heroic character from one of her favourite novels comes alive to brighten her evening.

From the Dramatic Adaptation

Catherine What shall we do? It’s very awkward to have no party to join.

Mrs Allen And no acquaintance to claim.

Catherine Or no gentleman to assist us.

Mrs Allen Aye, it’s very disagreeable to have nobody to speak to except each other. I wish we

had a large acquaintance here.

Catherine I wish we had any – it’d be somebody to go to.

Mrs Allen How is my head, my dear? Somebody gave me a push that has hurt it, I’m afraid.

Catherine No, indeed, it looks very nice.

Mrs Allen There goes a strange looking woman! What an odd gown she’s got on!

Catherine (After stifling a yawn) We shall do better another evening, I hope.

Mrs Allen If only you could dance. If only we could get a partner for you. Oh, I long for a

large acquaintance! (Exits)

Isabella (Appearing magically, with her book) The man staggered and groaned pitifully. St

Aubert’s horror may be imagined, when in the next instant he thought he heard the faint voice

of Valancourt! It was Valancourt!

(Catherine remains onstage, wearied by Mrs Allen’s protestations and the lack of a partner.

Valancourt, now wounded, staggers on, and collapses to his knees in front of Catherine but

unaware of her. The dancers disperse. Catherine’s desire for a partner, along with the

influence exerted on her by the books she reads, allows her to conjure up a romantic hero in the

middle of a Ball in this way!)

Isabella Valancourt! The handsome stranger they had met on their travels! He had been

riding towards them to warn them of the dangers that lay ahead. Valancourt, who had given

the book of poetry to Emily; who had walked with her in the forest, and charmed her at every

step. How brave! How noble! How altogether pleasing is Valancourt!

(The Bath public re-enter as the Pump Room fills up the next morning, and Catherine’s

daydream of the wounded Valancourt comes to an abrupt end. Valancourt exits. Catherine is

alone. She looks at every new face, dejected and ignored. Mrs Allen brings up the rear.)

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Northanger Abbey was written over

two hundred years ago, yet many of

the themes in the novel are still very

relevant to us today.

The boring rules and regulations of

social life.

Rigid gender roles and stereotypes.

The decision to marry for love rather

than marry for money.

Young people wanting or

believing life should be as

dramatic and romantic as a

fiction and the dangers of

perusing such a life.

Growing up, the loss of naivety,

learning to be single-minded,

independent and not to be deceived by appearances.

So, we’ve really not changed that much then over the centuries!

The Themes

8

Adaptations

Jane Austen’s work is frequently

adapted for stage and screen.

Why do you think that is?

Here are just a few depictions of

the characters from Northanger

Abbey.

Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

The BBC released the television

adaptation Northanger Abbey in 1986.

An adaptation of Northanger Abbey with a

screenplay by Andrew Davies, was shown

on ITV on 25 March 2007 as part of their

"Jane Austen Season". This adaptation

aired in the United States as part of the

"Complete Jane Austen" on Masterpiece

Classic in January 2008. It stars

Felicity Jones as Catherine Morland,

Carey Mulligan as Isabella Thorpe and

JJ Feild as Henry Tilney.

A stage adaptation of Northanger Abbey by

Tim Luscombe was produced by Salisbury

Playhouse in 2009. It was revived in

Chicago in 2013 at the Remy Bumppo

Theatre before coming to Theatre Royal

Bury St Edmunds in 2017.

A theatrical adaptation by Michael Napier

Brown was performed at the Royal

Theatre in Northampton in 1998 "Pup

Fiction" – an episode of Wishbone featuring

the plot and characters of Austen’s

Northanger Abbey.

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How is the adaptation different from the original work?

As I began to write the piece I realised that no theatre

company could ever produce what I was writing as

there were about 30 characters, and that I'd better

face the fact that I had two big parameters to write

within, not one. The new question was: how to get

the story into two and half hours of stage time with

only about 8 actors at most needed to tell it.

That was when I had to face hard challenges like

which characters to sacrifice. Mr Allen had to go.

Mr Morland had to go. Countless others.

York Theatre Royal, who produced the initial production and for whom I wrote the

play, insisted that 2 hours 15 minutes and 8 actors were the obstacles I had to

negotiate. They were immoveable red lines. Members of the audience had to be

able to catch the last bus home. The theatre company couldn't afford more than

8 actors. And that was that. (I had to learn to love my obstacles and I kind of did!

After all, art that's made with no obstacles is nearly always boring and self-

indulgent).

In adapting work for the stage, do you feel your responsibility is to keep

faithful to the narrative structure and content of the novel or to make a

play which is viable for a live audience?

You have to do both.

I do feel a loyalty to the original. I love Jane Austen. That's why I want to work on

her books and spend time exploring her mind. So it is hard to cut and change

things she wrote. Not only is it hard, but it’s dangerous too, because she knew

what she was doing. She is a master in the art of storytelling. She understands

character. And so you alter stuff at your peril. BUT. There are things that counted

then to a person and in the world that don't count now. Sensibilities that we don't

worry about in 2016 might drive a late 18th century man or woman mad with worry.

To an extent, that's what’s interesting. It’s fascinating getting to understand how

society functioned when a woman could never go unaccompanied to a dance. When

Isabella wants to look at a hat in a shop, the assumption is another person will have

to go with her. There’s no discussion or thought about it. If she can't find a

companion, she can't go shopping. But if my play spent too long negotiating these

18th century niceties and morals, an audience watching it might feel it was in a

museum or a history lesson, so I wanted to put Catherine’s teenage angst in the

forefront and make it as much of a love story as I could. And I wanted to lose none

of the comedy.

Q&A with Playwright, Tim Luscombe

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Were you conscious of pushing certain themes through in order to make

the piece more pertinent to a modern audience?

Apart from putting the love story first and central, I also wanted to explore as

fully as possible two other things that the book handles so well. Both are really

crucial and as relevant today as at any other time.

The first is that Austen seems to be saying that, if you have your head too deep

into literature – romance, fantasy, thriller, horror etc – and fail to also examine

the world as it really is, rather than as it is in novels, then you'll draw horrible

conclusions and get into trouble. Young people today who live in a world of

fashion, football, films or fiction might fail to recognise that the world isn't a

fantasy in which good perennially triumphs and you always get what you want or

even deserve. The world has to be lived in and understood and accepted. Then

real lives can get lived and things can be changed. Escapism is fun but, if it

excludes of a good dose of reality, dangerous because delusional.

The other theme is that of education. It is a very big theme in Jane Austen’s

books. Specifically, a young woman’s education in understanding the extent to

which she can affect the lives of others. (This is relatable to the point above

about fantasy, as it is about our place in the world and in society). Anyway, in

Northanger Abbey, Henry takes on the job of helping Catherine understand that

she cannot control (or even know) other people, that she can't know what they're

thinking, that we’re all independent beings who must ultimately be responsible for

ourselves, and recognise that the only person you can really change is yourself.

Put your own oxygen mask on first. Henry also educates Catherine about female

equality, no small thing!

The theme of education and personal change/influence can be seen in various

similar but interestingly variegated shades in Mansfield Park, where Fanny has to

be taught some important and similar life lessons, in Persuasion where the

heoine, Ann’s entire journey is to find a way to undo the damage inflicted on her

by another person having meddled in her life and, most obviously, in Emma

where Emma thinks it her role in life to fix up the love-lives of others. She learns

better.

We don't know what’s in the heart or mind of others and we’d better not guess.

CONTINUED…

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Can anything be adapted for stage?

Yes. Why not? Given that theatre’s speciality is transformation, I don't see why

something set entirely in your head or on the moon or in twelfth century Japan

can't be reimagined for the stage. Look at Shakespeare’s plays. He doesn't

seem to be inhibited by notions of realism or literalism. We’re at sea – because

one of the characters says so. Now we’re in a hut. Now we’re on a London

street. Sure, why not? Audiences will willingly suspend their disbelief because

they long to dive head first into a good story. It has to be good to work,

though! And theatre companies like Complicité or Kneehigh or the way Robert

Lepage creates work show that theatre can deal with any kind of material from

classic to ultra contemporary.

What were your challenges getting Northanger Abbey onto its feet?

How to translate Catherine’s inner monologues onto the stage.

To solve this problem, I came up with the notion that it might be useful to

incorporate parts of The Mysteries of Udolpho (her favourite book) into the

action to dramatise her fears and fantasies. Because Catherine has no-one to

talk to, I mean no-one to be really honest with, there couldn't be scenes where

she sat down and discussed her longings and worries and fears. This is partly a

reflection of the period and a woman’s role in it. It’s also partly because

Catherine is really a classic 18th century heroine to the extent that she's

surrounded by fools and devils, with no confidante in sight. And when she

eventually gets together with Henry and Eleanor, who are neither foolish nor

devilish, it’s too late for Catherine – she's already worked out her survival

strategy, i.e. to go into her head and conjure up Gothic horror. Or, rather, it’s

almost too late. Yet we want to know what's going on in her head. So that’s

how the little Udolpho snippets came to be.

CONTINUED…

12

Historical and Cultural Context

Late Eighteenth-Century Britain and the Regency Period

Jane Austen’s brief life and writing career overlapped with one of the most transformative

eras in British history, marked by revolution abroad and unrest at home.

For two decades, Britain was engaged almost without cease in the Revolutionary and

Napoleonic Wars of 1793 to 1815, one of the most significant conflicts in British history.

Among the effects of England’s foreign wars during this period were great financial

instability and monetary volatility. The precariousness of the late 18th century was

followed in the 1810s and 1820s by what is known as the Regency period. The Regency

officially began in 1811, when King George III became permanently insane and his son

George, Prince of Wales, was sanctioned to rule England in his place as Regent. The

political Regency lasted until 1820, when George IV was crowned. However, the Regency

period has also come to refer more generally to the early decades of the 19th century

before the start of Victoria’s reign in 1837, during which the Prince Regent provided a

great deal of support for the development of the arts and sciences that flourished during

this period. Austen would have witnessed, moreover, the beginning of industrialisation in

England, though the growth of the factory system would not reach its peak until the

middle of the 19th century. Outside of the genteel world we see in Northanger Abbey, a

third of the country’s population lived on the verge of starvation, spurring food riots

across the countryside. This unrest was compounded by Luddite protestors who attacked

new industrial machinery (a practice called “machine breaking”) in demonstrations that

were a precursor to labour strikes. As these demonstrations spread fear of a revolution

in England, the government responded with repressive measures which sharply curtailed

freedom of speech.

Marriage and Gender Roles

Northanger Abbey deftly illustrates how questions of land ownership and inheritance are

closely interlinked with courtship and marriage. In the late 18th century, English

conceptions of family and the role of women began to change, as British culture became

increasingly focused on the accumulation and concentration of wealth within the family.

One way for families to rapidly accumulate capital was through advantageous marriages.

As a result, the position of daughters within the family changed, as they became the

means through which a family could attain greater wealth. Familial aspirations, coupled

with women’s increased dependence on marriage for financial survival, made courtship a

central focus of women’s lives.

At the same time, the late 18th century also witnessed a transformation in the conception

of women’s rights following the publication of Mary Wollstonecraft’s Vindication of the

Rights of Woman in 1792. In the Vindication, Wollstonecraft argues, in the language of

Enlightenment thinkers like John Locke, that women should be treated as the rational

equals of men. Elizabeth Bennett serves as a paradigmatic example of the conflicting

transformations in women’s roles that occurred in the late 18th century. Disinherited of

her father’s property, Elizabeth is not financially independent, and in fact depends upon

an advantageous marriage for her future survival. Yet throughout the novel, she asserts

an intellectual and moral independence that reflects a Wollstoncraftian concept of gender

politics.

13

Print Culture and the Novel in Austen’s Time

Literacy and print culture in England greatly expanded in Austen’s lifetime. By

1800, almost everyone in the middle classes and above could read, and literacy

rates for the rest of the population rose steadily thereafter. At the same time,

from 1780 onwards there was a fairly steady rise in the number of new novels

being published, so that by the end of Austen’s life, the novel was the dominant

form of literature in England. In part, the rise of the novel was spurred on by

new forms of printing and marketing, which made books less expensive and

expanded their readership. Smaller format books were more portable, and

therefore easier to consume. Similarly, novels became more readily accessible

through the expansion of various modes of access, including circulating and

subscription libraries as well as periodicals, which made literature affordable in a

time when books were often prohibitively expensive. Nevertheless, novels of the

kind Austen published would have been an unaffordable luxury for a great deal of

the population. This was particularly true in the earlier part of the 19th century,

when “taxes on knowledge” raised prices on paper, newspapers, advertisements,

and other texts. These taxes were in fact at their height during Austen’s career.

This was in part because of a desire to limit access to information for the lower

classes in response to revolution in France and upheaval at home. Though the

late 18th and early 19th centuries marked an explosion in novel reading and the

production of the novels themselves, the widely affordable novel would not

become ubiquitous until the middle of the nineteenth century.

The rise of the novel has historically been linked to the rise of the middle class in

England from the eighteenth century onwards, because this expanding social class

(and middle class women in particular) had both the income and the leisure time

available to consume them. Although novels were widely read, throughout the

late 18th and early 19th centuries, they were largely considered unserious,

frivolous and, even, irrelevant — a merely ‘popular’ genre.

CONTINUED…

14

The Direct Address

Austen addresses the reader directly in parts, particularly at the end of

Chapter 5, where she gives a lengthy opinion of the value of novels and the

contemporary social prejudice against them in favour of drier historical works

and newspapers. In discussions featuring Isabella, the Thorpe sisters,

Eleanor and Henry and by Catherine perusing the library of the General, and her

mother's books on instructions on behaviours, the reader gains further insights

into Austen's various perspectives on novels in contrast with other popular

literature of the time (especially the Gothic novel). Eleanor even praises history

books and, while Catherine points out the obvious fiction of the speeches given

to important historical characters, Eleanor enjoys them for what they are.

The directness with which Austen addresses the reader, especially at the end of

the story, gives a unique insight into Austen's thoughts at the time, which is

particularly important due to the fact that a large portion of her letters were

burned, at her request, by her sister upon her death.

The important passage in Chapter 5 is the narrator's direct defence of

novel reading. At the time in England when Austen was writing, novels had a

negative connotation for many people, particularly people belonging to the

higher classes. The horrific events featured in Gothic novels and the lurid details

of books such as Daniel Defoe’s Moll Flanders and Samuel Richardson’s Pamela

cased the novel, as a form, to gain a poor reputation. Novels were considered a

diversion for the lower class. By the late 1790s, this opinion was beginning to

change, but novelists, especially female novelists, were still scorned.

When Austen began Northanger Abbey, the most famous woman author was

Anne Radcliffe, writer of the Gothic horror novels people so disparaged. Here the

narrator issues a call to arms, asking us to ignore the snide opinions of the

reviewers, and listing the merits of the novel.

15

English

Comprehension

Answer the following questions

1 What was Catherine Morland’s family situation like?

2 Why did Mrs Allen want to take Catherine to Bath?

3 What were Catherine’s first opinions of John Thorpe and Henry Tilney?

4 What did John Thorpe do to make Catherine angry?

5 What did John Thorpe tell General Tilney about Catherine and why did he do

it?

6 Why was Catherine so excited about going to Northanger Abbey?

7 Why did Catherine suspect General Tilney of doing to his wife?

8 Why did Isabella break off her engagement to James?

9 Why did General Tilney send Catherine away from Northanger Abbey?

10 How did Henry and Catherine finally get the General’s consent to marry?

Creative Writing

- Alternate Ending

Write an alternate ending to Northanger Abbey.

- Gothic Short Story

Write a short story in the style of a Gothic novel.

- The Mysteries of Udolpho

Research the novel The Mysteries of Udolpho by Anne Radcliffe.

- Love letter

Write a love letter from Henry to Catherine. Try your best to use the

common language of the time.

Northanger Abbey – Enrichment Activities

16

Drama

1 Jane Austen’s novels are frequently re-worked into contemporary settings,

illustrating the timelessness of her stories.

Devise a contemporary scene, using your favourite moment from Northanger

Abbey as stimulus. Modernise the dialogue, the mannerisms, clothing and

cultural references.

Consider this:

Reflect: In modernising the scene, do you find the attitudes of the characters

or the etiquette has changes or is it just the same?

2 Within a middleclass environment during the time of Regency England, the

way an individual behaved or the things they said often belied their true

feelings. Perfectly civil conversations could be taking place amidst

overwhelming feelings of anger, fear, sadness, or adoration. The meaning

beneath the dialogue is often referred to as ’subtext’; what lies underneath the

text.

Select a scene from the novel that you feel has the potential for ‘subtext’

between the characters speaking. In groups, enact the scene twice, the first

time ‘straight’, with just the dialogue being played out simply, and the second

time with two members of the group pausing the action to provide the inner

thoughts or subtext within the scene, with two performers speaking the

characters’ thoughts aloud as the action takes place.

Reflect: Does this add further tension, humour or atmosphere to the scene?

CONTINUED…

17

PSHE

Etiquette has changed quite a lot over the last few hundred years. Take a look at

Appendix 1, Rules and Etiquette in Regency Society. There are actually many more

rules that are not listed in this abridged document.

What does this amount of formulated social rules suggest to you?

Are any of those rules still applicable today?

Count up how many rules and practices of etiquette refer purely to women. How

many are there compared to other sections of society, including children, men and

servants. What do you think this indicates?

1 Write an account of what you think it would feel like as a middle-class young

woman in that era?

2 Create your own Rules and Etiquette document for the modern era.

History

In order to understand the characters depicted in Northanger Abbey it is useful to

put them into the context of their time and location.

Create a newspaper article from 1817, carefully documenting the news and

events around the time that Northanger Abbey was written.

Art and Textiles

Research the popular fashion of the time period in which Northanger Abbey is

set.

Design and create a dress which would have been worn by Catherine to one of

the many balls she attends in the story.

CONTINUED…

18

Marketing

To misquote Jane Austen, it is a truth universally acknowledged that audiences in

different parts of the United Kingdom respond to marketing in a different ways.

The 2017 tour of Northanger Abbey is scheduled to visit towns and cities from

Ipswich to Exeter to Richmond in Yorkshire. But how do you go about creating

awareness of the play in such widespread of places? And how do you make sure

that your marketing is appropriate to each venue and to each audience?

Research details of Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds, where Northanger Abbey

will be starting its run before going on tour. Can you tell, from the wider

programme what the Theatre is offering, which sort of audience the Theatre is

marketing to? Is it clear from the recent and future programming, who is most

likely to be the core audience? Is there anything else on the venue’s website

that gives you a clue? When thinking about all of this, consider style and

language, as well as content.

1 In groups create two separate marketing campaigns which reflect the style

of this venue. One campaign should be for a younger audience, such as

yourselves, and the other should be for an older demographic. In both

cases, your task is to market the tour of Northanger Abbey. Are the two

different audiences looking for different things? How can both age ranges

be hooked in? Where are you going to place the marketing materials?

Which publications? Which platforms?

2 From this, create a marketing campaign plan; you can use the images that

have been created for this production of Northanger Abbey (Appendix 2), or

your own images, drawings or designs, to create a coherent and targeted

campaign for the two different audiences.

You may also wish to use some

quotes from some of the

reviews of other TRBSE

productions, to highlight the

critical response, if you think

that this would be likely to

persuade members of our

audiences to buy tickets.

Finally, compare the campaigns for the two different audiences; how are they

similar and how are they different? How successful do you feel each one will be

in reaching the audiences that they are targeting?

CONTINUED…

You should consider:

- a poster for the venue to display

- an advertisement for the side of a local bus or

other venues

- a website homepage specific to this play in their town

- an advertisement for a local newspaper or magazine

that is read by their target audience.

19

Rules & Etiquette in Regency Society Appendix 1

Social connections were usually formed through a series of meetings, usually beginning with calls to the homes of those in fashionable society.

A gentleman calling on a family asked for the mistress of the house if the visit was a social one and the master if it was a business call.

A card was left if the lady of the house was indisposed or not at home. It was acceptable for a gentleman to call on a daughter of the house if she were well above marriageable age or a long-standing friend.

Callers were received by men in their business room or library, by women in the morning room or in their drawing room.

A lady, either married or single, did not call at a man’s lodging.

For a lady, it was acceptable to go out riding or driving with a man as long as a groom or other chaperone was in attendance, unless he was a relative of a close family friend, in which case no chaperone was necessary.

Servants were spoken to with exactly the right degree of civility and never with casual informality.

Neither a lady nor a gentleman discussed private business in the presence of servants.

Servants were generally ignored at mealtimes.

It was essential to dress for dinner.

When going in to dinner, the man of the house always escorted the highest-ranking lady present. The remaining dinner guests also paired up and entered the dining room in order of rank.

At a formal dinner one did not talk across the dinner table but confined conversation to those on one’s left and right.

Ladies were expected to retire to the withdrawing room after dinner, leaving the men to their port and their ‘male’ talk.

Overt displays of emotion were generally considered ill-bred.

Children always bowed or curtsied on meeting their parents for the first time each day.

To be thought ‘fast’ or to show a want of conduct was the worst possible social stigma.

A wife was expected to be blind to her husband’s affairs.

A married woman could take a lover once she had presented her husband with an heir, as long as she was discreet about her extramarital relationships.

A lady did not engage in any activity that might give rise to gossip.

When out socially a lady did not wear a shawl for warmth no matter how cold the weather.

A gentleman was expected to immediately pay his gambling debts, or any debt of honour.

A female did not engage in finance or commerce if she had a man, such as a husband, father or brother, to do it for her.

Extremes of emotion and public outbursts were unacceptable.

A well-bred person maintained an elegance of manners and deportment.

From ‘Georgette Heyer’s Regency World’ by Jennifer Kloester (2008)