Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
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The year is 1806 and the country is England. The Napoleonic wars are raging in France and magic, an academic subject only, is no longer practised. A street peddler foretells of a prophesy of the return of magic to England, which has been dead since the disappearance of the Raven King some three hundred years ago.
Enter Mr Norrell, his magical displays enchant the nation, he raises fair maidens from the dead and sends ghost ships to battle the French. He is at pains however, to ensure that no other lays claim to his title of England’s Greatest (and only) Magician and with the help of his servant Childermass, he searches out every book of practical magic to be added to his private library and every theoretical magician to ensure their interest in the subject swiftly wanes...with a little persuasion. Enter Jonathan Strange, a young man who appears to challenge Mr Norrell's status. Although only a novice, his talents are brilliant and whilst Norrell has poured for years over his books to obtain his knowledge Strange's natural aptitude for the subject knows no bounds. A battle between these two magicians threatens to overshadow even the war. Their dark practices cause them more trouble than they could ever, possibly imagine.
"Ever since the first evening Mr Segundas had been intending to ask Mr Honeyfoot about the Learned Society of Magicians of Manchester which Dr Foxcastle had mentioned. He did so now. "It was a society of quite recent foundation," said Mr Honeyfoot, "and its members were clergymen of the poorer sort, respectable ex-tradesmen, apothecaries, lawyers, retired mill owners who got up a little Latin and so forth, such as people might be termed half-gentleman. I believe Dr Foxcastle was glad when they disbanded - he does not think that people of that sort have any business becoming magicians. And yet, you know, there were several clever men among them. They began, as you did, with the aim of bringing back practical magic to the world. They were practical men and wished to apply the principal of reason and science to magic as they had done to the manufacturing arts. They called it 'Rational Thaumaturgy'. When it did not work they became discouraged. Well, they cannot be blamed for that. But they let their disillusionment lead them into all sorts of difficulties. They began to think that there was not now nor ever had been magic in the world. They said that the Aureate magicians were all deceivers or were themselves deceived. And that the Raven King was an invention of the northern English to keep themselves from the tyranny of the south (being north-country men themselves they had some sympathy with that). Oh, their arguments were very ingenious - I forget how they explained fairies. They disbanded, as I told you, and one of them, whose name was Aubrey I think, meant to write it all down and publish it. But when it came to the point he found a sort of fixed melancholy had settled on him and was not able to rouse himself enough to begin."
This novel creates such an atmosphere that you could almost be in 19th century England, in fact the attention to detail is such that at times, even with the obvious fantasy subject matter, you feel as if you are reading an historical account of real events. It is the clever use of real historical figures such as Wellington and Byron woven throughout the book that lends an authenticity to the events you are reading about and it is seamlessly done. The pomposity of the English ladies and gentlemen of the era is fully realised and Susanna Clarke has written the book in a style not dissimilar to Dickens and Austin.
This is a large book at over 800 pages but the richness of the tale keeps the reader enchanted until the very end. Clarke brings life to all her characters and her imagination leaps out from every page. To have kept the writing style uniform throughout is itself a triumph.
The book contains many footnotes, which could easily of distracted from the story but instead provide interesting stories of their own and are integral to understanding the character and other world of 'Faerie', which is the starting point of the Raven King and therefore all English Magic.
Susanna Clarke shows amazing intellect and imagination in creating this new world and it is a joy for the reader to immerse himself or herself in. This book is highly recommended and mainly for adults. It is a genuinely original and arresting story and will establish Susanna Clarke as one of the finest new authors of our generation.
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell (Amazon.co.uk)
Author: Susanna Clarke
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 1024
Publication date: 2005-09-05
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
RRP: £9.99
Lowest new price: £3.40
Lowest used price: £0.01
Any book touted as the 'adult Harry Potter' runs the risk of attracting critical parries from swords of the double-edged variety. If this wasn't enough, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell--the debut novel from Susanna Clarke--also invites comparisons with Jane Austen. Set in the early nineteenth-century, the action moves from genteel drawing rooms-albeit where a mischievous Faerie king sips tea with the wife of a very human government minister, to the bloody battleground of Waterloo, where giant hands of earth drag men to their doom. The juxtaposition of perfectly realised magical worlds and the everyday one with which JK Rowling and Philip Pullman so successfully captured our imaginations and the social comedy of Austen and Thackeray can easily be recognised. But less easy to pastiche is the ability of these writers to induce sheer narrative pleasure, and it is Clarke's great achievement that she succeeds with this hugely enjoyable read. Gilbert Norrell is determined to single-handedly rehabilitate his sanitised and patriotic version of English magic, which has suffered a post-Enlightenment neglect after a richly dark history. He ruthlessly secures his place as England's only magician in two marvellously drawn feats. First, he brings the statutes of York Cathedral to life and then, to facilitate his entry into London society, he brings a young bride-to-be back from the dead--a feat with terrible consequences. However, another more naturally gifted magician-Jonathan Strange-emerges to become his pupil and later his rival. Strange becomes increasingly obsessed with the Raven King-the medieval lord-magician of the North of England and pursues his desire to recruit a fairy servant to the edge of madness. Whilst the differing characters of Norrell and Strange give the book a central human conflict, it is the tension between the dual natures of civilised and wilder magic that lends it a metaphysical texture that shades the narrative with wonderful and troubling descriptions of ships made of rain, paths between mirrors and faerie roads leading out of England to a bleak yet dazzling realm. Fortunately, the precision of her storytelling never reigns in Clarke's prodigious imagination. Clarke's broad canvas of characters-including Wellington, Napoleon and Bryon, locations and tones are masterfully realised. However, sometimes her own enchantment with them leads her to drop her pace, although even at almost 800 pages, this is a book to which you'll muster up little resistance. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is the perfect novel to take up residence in as the nights get longer. -- Fiona Buckland -- This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Amazon.co.uk
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell (Amazon.com)
Author: Susanna Clarke
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 1024
Publication date: 2005-09-05
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
RRP: $13.54
Lowest new price: $6.36
Lowest used price: $0.01
Two magicians shall appear in England. The first shall fear me; the second shall long to behold me The year is 1806. England is beleaguered by the long war with Napoleon, and centuries have passed since practical magicians faded into the nation's past. But scholars of this glorious history discover that one remains: the reclusive Mr Norrell whose displays of magic send a thrill through the country. Proceeding to London, he raises a beautiful woman from the dead and summons an army of ghostly ships to terrify the French. Yet the cautious, fussy Norrell is challenged by the emergence of another magician: the brilliant novice Jonathan Strange. Young, handsome and daring, Strange is the very opposite of Norrell. So begins a dangerous battle between these two great men which overwhelms the one between England and France. And their own obsessions and secret dabblings with the dark arts are going to cause more trouble than they can imagine.
Product Description
William from Glasgow
"The way the book is written is the key for me with this book, the footnotes, which could have made it seem like a history book, are wonderfully witty and do not distract you from the story itself. The story is great, the two magicians, Mr Norrell and Jonathan Strange are completely different but complement each other superbly. The supporting cast, which includes Childermass, Drawlight, Segundas and Black do what a supporting cast should do and this all goes to make reading it a real treat. Susanna Clarke will be hard pressed to write another book this good bit I, for one, am hoping that she succeeds. "
Thomas from Leeds
"A truly wonderful book that has great characters and fantastic plot. The sense of humour that runs through is dry but often hilarious. This is fantasy for adults, I doubt that children would enjoy it, mainly due to the size of the book (800+ pages) and they would probably find the themes slightly too adult to enjoy."
Mary from Lancashire
"I have just finished this book, which has taken a couple of weeks as I only get to read for a short time in the evenings. It is an amazing book and although it requires at times real commitment in following the story (not least with the footnotes being a whole other book in themselves!)it rewards you richly with the beautiful prose and incredible attention to detail making this book a true modern classic that you just have to read!"
Jane from Wiltshire
"This is a book that I can not praise highly enough. It\'s magical, the period setting the most believable I have ever encountered. Beautifully written with a wonderfully dry humour throughout. This is a book that shows that fantasy is not just elves and goblins but can be a book of which Charles Dickens would be proud! 10 out of 10!"
Patrick from Los Angeles
"Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. Sorry, tried this book 3 times - never got beyond page 100. Dry."
Harry from United States
"Way over-rated and very boring."
Ragnar from Norway
"This is one of the few fantasy books I actually simply gave up on reading due to the boredom induced by the book itself. Altough fairly imaginative the alarmingly slow pace at which it moves forth makes it the most unworthy nr.5 on a top 100 list I have ever seen. Just my opinion."
Donnacha from Ireland
"Just so boring, dull and slow."
Gracie from Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
"An amazing book."
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