Val McDermid on suspense and psychology in Northanger Abbey

As Jane Austen turns 250, Austen biographer and writer Dr Paula Byrne is joined by prominent thinkers, writers, directors who tell her about their encounters with the famous author. Each of her guests has been shaped and changed by Austen. Paula's guests inspire her own reflections about Austen's life and works. Today it's the turn of Val McDermid.

When crime writer Val McDermid first read Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey, she found the novel's heroine, Catherine Morland, a bit frustrating. But it was on later re-readings that she began to appreciate her and the book itself. Val went on to rewrite Austen's early novel a few years ago and tells Paula how she transposed the setting to Scotland. The original is a novel which was intended for publication in the early 1800s and it parodies the Gothic fiction of the time. But Paula and Val explore how it's a bit more complicated than a straightforward parody and talk about how Austen understood psychological suspense. They reflect on how Austen defends and supports novelists from the book's opening chapters. Val tells Paula how Austen has influenced her own writing and argues that Austen subtly warns us - if we read her carefully enough.

Presenter: Dr Paula Byrne
Reader: Gemma Whelan
Producer: Camellia Sinclair