] Northanger Abbey was originally titled Susan and was written in 1798-99 when Jane Austen was around 24.

I've always wondered this - where did the title "Susan" come from? Was Catherine originally named that?

] She made some revisions, changed the name to Catherine , wrote an advertisement in which she apologized for its being dated

In the intro in my book (by Margaret Drabble) she said that she believes that JA didn't make many revision - so in reality it really reflects the youngest writing skill in a full novel even though it was published post-humerously. When I read it, I'm inclined to agree - it always seems much younger than her other books, especially the intrusions of the author herself talking to the audience.