The novel is famous especially as a parody of Gothic fiction and for its list of "horrid" novels.

More importantly, it is a bildungsroman in which an innocent, inexperienced young woman learns the differences between life as described in her favorite literary works and a reality that can be harsh, merciless, but also liberating and enlightening.

This edition includes Jane Austen's "Advertisement" and her biography written by her brother, and it is accompanied by 152 explanatory notes.