I wasn’t sure I was going to compare the two because I listened to the book in 2014 and so many of the details alluded me, but after I watched the 2007 movie and re-read my book review I think I can manage a limited comparison.

The Story/Plot  Catherine, one of 10 children living in the country, was invited by her neighbors to visit Bath and attend some balls.  Catherine was young, read so many gothic novels that her imagination was vivid, and was drawn into a friendship under somewhat false pretenses.  She meets Henry and his sister and is invited back to their home.  There, with the death of their mother still lingering and an abrasive father present, she imagines the worst and her time at Northanger Abbey is cut short.   I felt like there were some differences at the end, but I may just be remembering the book wrong. Either way, both worked.  Thumbs up…tie.

The Visual  Hm.  Like with most stories that are set in a period long gone I think that the movie can bring to the story to life in a way that your imagination might not be able to accomplish.  So, the dresses, the complicated dances at balls, the old castles, all gave the movie the edge.  I even found Catherine’s bookish daydreams fun in the context of the movie, even of they felt a little cheesy.  Thumbs up…movie.

Characters vs. Actors  I LOVED the casting of this movie.  A young Felicity Jones was perfect as the wide-eyed Catherine and JJ Field, who I recognized from Austenland, had that twinkle in his eye that had me (and Catherine ) falling for him.  Carey Mulligan was fantastic as the gold digging friend.  The whole cast was amazing.  Thumbs up…movie

The Ending  As I said in the plot section, I don’t remember the end of the book in enough detail.  If I track down my book and find the time to re-read it I’ll come back and change this 🙂

And the winner is… the movie!

Now it’s your turn to vote

Other book vs. movie polls you can vote on: (We Have Always Lived in the Castle) (Good Morning, Midnight/ The Midnight Sky) (Before I Go To Sleep) (The Little Prince) (Charlie St. Cloud) (Far From the Madding Crowd) (The Girl on the Train) (Tuck Everlasting)  (Northanger Abbey) (Me Before You) (And Then There Were None) (Still Alice) (The Blind Side) (The Fault in Our Stars) (The Hound of the Baskervilles) (Gone Girl) (Jack Reacher) (Ender’s Game) (Carrie, the original) (Under the Tuscan Sun) (The Secret Life of Bees) (The Shining, the original)