3.5 Stars

The latest novel in Amanda Grange's Austen hero diary series, Henry Tilney's Diary tells of the events of Northanger Abbey from Henry Tilney's perspective. It also goes back a little further and explores Henry's childhood and life before he crossed paths with Miss Catherine Morland in Bath. Overall this was a fun novel and I think Grange does a good job portraying Henry Tilney's character in a manner consistent his characterization in Northanger Abbey. I also liked that Henry's sister Eleanor played such a large role in this story. I definitely recommend this one to fans of Jane Austen spin-offs. ( )

Henry Tilney’s Diary by Amanda Grange provides readers with the inner thoughts and past of Northanger Abbey‘s hero. Like his sister Eleanor, Henry has a passion for the written word, which mirrors Austen’s homage to readers in the original novel. Grange steeps her prose in Gothic tales of secret passages and story telling between brother and sister and between Henry Tilney and Catherine Morland. Drawing inspiration from Mrs. Radcliff and her novels, A Sicilian Romance and The Mysteries of Udolpho.

Unlike Austen’s version, Tilney reads Gothic novels for pleasure, a pleasure he shares with his sister, and while he remains very logical in his thinking about finding a wife, he is soon swept up by the charms of Catherine. His requirements in a wife are listed on more than one occasion with a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor.

Read the full review: http://savvyverseandwit.com/2011/12/henry-tilneys-diary-by-amanda-grange.html ( )