At the time of the Morlands, the Thorpes end the Tylneys all sorts of entertainement were held during the six weeks of the Summer season. Hilly surroundings to the North and West, the land reaches down to a valley irrigated by the same rivers and streams meandering towards the mouth of the river Severn in Wales and the English Channel in the South of England. The undulating, at times rock scenery abounds in forests, lakes, waterfalls and quite a numer of historical sites among which old castles and abandoned abbeys are not less relevant. Incidentally, some episodes take place in the city of Rouen, like the evening at the Opera and Emma's weekly rendezvous with L on. The region is a fertile plateau for agriculture and dairying.
Wind coming from the sea brings the necessary humidity.
Although the historical context is not mentioned in Northanger Abbey , we must remember it as a back drop that influenced the manners and opinions of the readers. It is then in Louis Philippe's reign when a parliamentary regime was established. A period of prosperity started although no solutions were brought to the social problems. By telling us Catherine's adventures, Jane Austen presents her heroine's enthusiasm for Mrs Radcliffe's Mysteries of Udolpho. The Romance of the Forest whose ruined Abbey of St Clair with its labyrinthic corridors and old chests hiding mysterious rolls of paper and many other details must have surely inspired our writer.