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The Ladies of Grace Adieu

by Susanna Clarke, Charles Vess (Illustrator)

3.8 of 5 stars 3.80 · rating details · 7,305 ratings · 741 reviews

Clarke writes with the twinkling lightness that brings the best folk tales to life - The Times

Faerie is never as far away as you think. Sometimes you find you have crossed an invisible line and must cope, as best you can, with petulant princesses, vengeful owls, ladies who pass their time embroidering terrible fates or with endless paths in deep, dark woods and houses that...more

Paperback, 235 pages

Published September 3rd 2007 by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC (first published January 1st 2006)

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Apr 30, 2013 Richard rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Rating: four very satisfied stars of five

The Publisher Says: Following the enormous success of 2004 bestseller and critics' favorite Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Susanna Clarke delivers a delicious collection of ten stories set in the same fairy-crossed world of 19th-century England. With Clarke's characteristic historical detail and diction, these dark, enchanting tales unfold in a slightly distorted version of our own world, where people are bedeviled by mischievous interventions from th...more Rating: four very satisfied stars of five

The Publisher Says: Following the enormous success of 2004 bestseller and critics' favorite Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Susanna Clarke delivers a delicious collection of ten stories set in the same fairy-crossed world of 19th-century England. With Clarke's characteristic historical detail and diction, these dark, enchanting tales unfold in a slightly distorted version of our own world, where people are bedeviled by mischievous interventions from the fairies. With appearances from beloved characters from her novel, including Jonathan Strange and Childermass, and an entirely new spin on certain historical figures, including Mary, Queen of Scots, this is a must-have for fans of Susanna Clarke's and an enticing introduction to her work for new readers. Some of these stories have never before been published; others have appeared in the New York Times or in highly regarded anthologies. In this collection, they come together to expand the reach of Clarke's land of enchantment--and anticipate her next novel.

My Review: What a delectable cocktail peanut of a book. I wish it had been available before Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, because it would have made a perfect gateway drug to the longer, more intense, and more exhausting high of the Big One. But that's like complaining that you only won $10 million in the lottery..."oh shut up" is the best response.

Nine stories set in Miss Clarke's vastly improved nineteenth-century England, the one where magical beings are and the operations of magic happen to all the people. These operations aren't always pleasant, or even kind ("Mrs Mabb", "Antickes and Frets"); sometimes, though, the balance of justice gets a magical turbocharge with satisfying results ("Tom Brightwind or How the Fairy Bridge Was Built at Thoresby", "John Uskglass and the Cumbrian Charcoal Burner"); and for the rest? Sheer pleasure to read.

Clarke creates this magical England carefully, a term I use despite its connotations of grindhood and laborious tedium; the care, gratefully, is virtually invisible to the reader. It shows itself in the effortless naturalism of these clearly contra-natural stories. It is a sign of a master storyteller working at close to peak performance. One never thinks, "Oh c'mon!" about the antics of the magical characters, since they are provided with clear, though sometimes skewed, motives for their actions. It's a pleasure to meet John Uskglass and see his interaction with the mundane world in all its bilateral confusion and misunderstanding! Tom Brightwind and Dr. Montefiore are the classic mismatched buddies that I do honestly meet in real life; even though one is a fairy that doesn't change their dynamic.

The physical book, the hardcover edition that I have anyway, is as pleasurable to possess as the stories themselves are. The handsome cloth binding, stamped with Charles Voss's beautiful floral illustration, begins the pleasure; beautiful oxblood colored endsheets are rich, inviting, somewhat unsettlingly colored; then the line drawings within the text and the handsome, clear typography complete the impression of careful, thoughtful presentation of these delightful tales.

Anyone who quailed at the sheer massiveness of the tome Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell should read these stories, and understand that equal pleasures of a more sustained sort await between those widely separated covers. Anyone who simply loves good storytelling and good stories told should run and get this book. It's very much worth your time and money.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.(less)

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Jan 14, 2012 Keely rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, uk-and-ireland, short-story, reviewed

How rare it is to find a book which is exactly what its author meant it to be. There are no missteps here, everything is deliberate, and much of it masterful. It is not surprising that, when he first read one of Clarke's short stories, Neil Gaiman remarked:

"It was terrifying from my point of view to read this first short story that had so much assurance ... It was like watching someone sit down to play the piano for the first time and she plays a sonata."

The English tradition of Fairy Stories is...more

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Sep 08, 2008 Lena rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

This collection of short stories by the author of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell serves as an introduction to the world of magic and faeries in England. The friend who lent it to me referred to it as "starter Susanna Clarke." In that respect, the book was very successful—I took enough pleasure in these tales enough to move Clarke's formidable 1000-page novel to the top of my to-read list.

The title story purports to elaborate on an enigmatic action undertaken by Mr. Strange in Clarke's larger w...more

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Jan 24, 2012 Terry rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, fantasy, short-stories

3.5 stars

I have to admit that I found the first four stories in this collection only fair-to-middling, though the title tale had some nice moments of understated menace. From the point of "Mr. Simonelli, or the Fairy Widower" on, however, I was fully on-board and greatly enjoyed the rest of the collection.

Simonelli is a great character, equal parts self-aggrandizing rogue (for, we learn, obvious cultural reasons) and concerned pastor of his flock. I'd love to see more of his reminiscences in a l...more

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Apr 14, 2011 Callista rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fantasy

I'd forgotten exactly how wryly amusing Clarke's style can be. It's good to read her again.
As I've done before, I will rate each story as I read it.
4 stars for "The Ladies of Grace Adieu" -- A companion piece to Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, featuring Jonathan and Arabella Strange, but only tangentially about them. This is sly and a little creepy; a subtle tale of female revenge and male cruelty/fear.
3 stars for "On Lickerish Hill" -- A quirky spin on the "Rumpelstiltskin" tale, in dialect...more I'd forgotten exactly how wryly amusing Clarke's style can be. It's good to read her again.
As I've done before, I will rate each story as I read it.
4 stars for "The Ladies of Grace Adieu" -- A companion piece to Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, featuring Jonathan and Arabella Strange, but only tangentially about them. This is sly and a little creepy; a subtle tale of female revenge and male cruelty/fear.
3 stars for "On Lickerish Hill" -- A quirky spin on the "Rumpelstiltskin" tale, in dialect with 17th century spelling (which, at first, was a bit of a challenge to read).
3 stars for "Mrs Mabb" -- It didn't turn out how I feared it might.
2 stars for "The Duke of Wellington Misplaces His Horse" -- A slight trifle of a little campfire story. Set in the world of Gaiman & Vess's Stardust, but all it really has in common with it is the setting of Wall.
2 1/2 stars for "Mr Simonelli or the Fairy Widower" -- I struggled with what to rate this. Parts of it I liked quite a lot, such as how Simonelli deals with his problems. Clarke is very clever in how she hints at Simonelli's secret heritage and shows aspects of it throughout while still having him behave properly for the type of person he thinks he is. But there's also a very creepy aspect to the story in the awful things that happen to the young women. Of course, it is rather the stuff of fairy tales--the villain has to be villainous...still, I found some of it too disturbing to enjoy.
3 1/2 stars for "Tom Brightwind or How the Fairy Bridge Was Built at Thoresby" -- This one got off to a rocky start; it would've been 4 stars except for the nattering fairy princesses and a couple of overdone footnotes. But it turned out to be entertaining with a bit of naughtiness. Tom reminded me a bit of Peter Pan, but more charming and without the fear of getting mixed up with women. I liked David, the doctor--one of those nice guys who has questionable friends and still somehow retains his niceness. I very much liked how the bridge turned out.
2 stars for "Antickes and Frets" -- A bit like the Duke of Wellington story in reverse. I didn't really care for the characterisation of Mary, Queen of Scots.
3 1/2 stars for "John Uskglass and the Cumbrian Charcoal Burner" -- Quirky in the way that old folk tales can be. Not what I would've expected a story featuring Uskglass to be, but it was quite entertaining. I wish Clarke would write a whole book about Uskglass.
If you've already read Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell and haven't read this yet, I recommend it. It has the same style and voice as the novel. If you've been intimidated by the sheer size of JS&MN but are curious, reading this will give you a taste of what you'll find there. But I do think the novel is a much stronger piece of work than this collection of stories. If you are a fan of 19th century British classics and are considering a foray into the fantasy genre, I recommend Clarke's work.
I do enjoy Clarke's voice. I've formerly described her writing style and subject matter as "Jane Austen meets JK Rowling"; but now that I've read Terry Pratchett (his magic users live in a sort of nebulous fantasy past that feels a lot like the 19th century), I think it's more like "Austen meets Pratchett."
And, by the way--Charles Vess' illustrations add some lovely whimsy to the book.(less)

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Dec 28, 2008 Lightreads rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, historical, fantasy, collection

A collection from the author of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, cast in a similar scholarly tone, but focused much more specifically on the fairies.

. . . Meh.

Most of these stories are in the world of Jonathan Strange (who himself makes an appearance in the titular story). I liked the novel all right, though it didn’t blow my mind or anything. But the style which is bemusing and engrossing over six hundred pages is remote and rather inaccessible in short form. Clarke’s fairies are also univers...more

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Mar 28, 2008 Elle rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Any and every negative review I've ever read for the brilliant novel Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell has placed emphasis on the weightiness and long-winded nature of the book. The prose is brilliant, the premise enchanting, but it is an 800 page novel that takes the long way 'round the story of two of the greatest magicians of the age seeking to bring back magic to England during the Napoleonic war.

This collection of short stories takes us back to that world, where Faerie is very real and prop...more

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Feb 12, 2008 Angela rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Brad Hart

Recommended to Angela by: Garrett Forsgren

Before cozying down with this book it would help the reader to know a little about british folk lore. In particular that fairies where not thought to be tiny winged creatures who flew around granting the wishes and whims of humans. They were thought to be immortal creatures who resembled humans and interfered in the lives of mortals more as entertainment for themselves. However they where believed to have a ting of respect for the human who was magically inclined and could be of help to mortals...more

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Oct 30, 2008 Susan rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

As I was reading this while waiting for brakework on my car to be completed, I really couldn't start bashing my brains in with the hardback first edition in front of other sensitive types. Yes I was upset, and yes I kept looking down at my krispy kremes wondering if I should power through them early in an attack of emotional eating. If you want to read a terrible, simply hideous, attempt at pastiche of phaeries, pharisees, faeries and more fairies...by all means, reade on. Otherwise, throwe this...more

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Mar 06, 2012 Margaret rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favourites

I am always just currently reading this one no matter how many times I have picked it up. I just love it!

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Feb 13, 2009 Terri rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009

This was a great collection of fairie tales in the old sense of the word- stories about the fey and their interference in human lives. The title story, The Ladies of Grace Adieu was probably my favorite. After reading Jonathon Strange and Mr. Norrell, I am fascinated by the Raven King. Many of these stories are set in the same world as Jonathon Strange. In fact, the book is tied together as a primer from that world on the Fair Folk. One of the stories is set in Neil Gaiman's town of Wall.

Overal...more

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Aug 21, 2008 Sandi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, 2008

One of the many things I enjoyed about Susanna Clarke’s debut novel, “Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell” was the footnotes that would go on at length telling some strange tale about fairies or magic. They were short stories set apart from the main story, but important to the world of the novel nonetheless. “The Ladies of Grace Adieu” is a collection of short stories similar in spirit to the footnotes in “Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell”.

Susanna Clarke’s ability to write in period style is quite...more One of the many things I enjoyed about Susanna Clarke’s debut novel, “Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell” was the footnotes that would go on at length telling some strange tale about fairies or magic. They were short stories set apart from the main story, but important to the world of the novel nonetheless. “The Ladies of Grace Adieu” is a collection of short stories similar in spirit to the footnotes in “Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell”.

Susanna Clarke’s ability to write in period style is quite impressive. One would almost think that she had traveled forward in time from the Victorian Age just to regale us with her fairy tales. She can even write in the style of the 17th century without missing a beat. Despite Clarke’s period writing style, her work is quite readable and seems as fresh as it is.

The title story, “The Ladies of Grace Adieu”, is a mysterious story about 3 young ladies in the town of Grace Adieu. They appear to be perfectly normal young women. One is married to a much older gentleman. One is the gentleman’s ward. The third is governess to two young orphan heiresses. Jonathan Strange and his wife and her brother make a cameo appearance in this story. The Stranges are visiting Mrs. Strange’s brother who is vicar at the local church. He is enamored by Cassandra, the gentleman’s ward. The story takes some odd twists and turns that I didn’t quite follow but found quite haunting.

“On Lickerish Hill” is a straight forward re-telling of the Rumplestiltskin story. It takes place in the 17th century and is told in the English of that time when spelling wasn’t standardized. The words all look odd; it’s like reading early Colonial American works. But, it is easier to read than it seems. The language is what makes this story engaging.

“Mrs. Mabb” is an odd fairy tale about a young woman who refuses to believe that her beloved has left her for a mystery woman. Even though she appears to have gone insane, she never gives up trying to find the elusive home of her rival, Mrs. Mabb.

“The Duke of Wellington Misplaces His Horse” takes place in the town of Wall—the setting of “Stardust” by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess. It’s a very short, amusing piece about celebrity and embroidery.

“Mr Simonelli or the Fairy Widower” is an intriguing story. If Edgar Allen Poe wrote fairy tales, this would be the result.

“Tom Brightwind or How the Fairy Bridge Was Built at Thoresby” didn’t work quite as well as the other stories in this collection. I could see no reason why Tom and David were friends. The ending held no surprises and the magic seemed less than magical.

“Antickes and Frets” is yet another tale of embroidery and celebrity.

“John Uskglass and the Cumbrian Charcoal Burner” is part fairy tale, part fable. The Cumbrian charcoal burner is probably the best character in this collection.
(less)

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May 23, 2008 Wm rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction-and-fantasy

Surely Susanna Clarke was destined to be a one-note wonder, right? The wonderful Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell was the one good book she had in her, and it was clear that she'd spend decades fretting over and not working on her next novel and never get around to completing complete it.

Because otherwise, it's just not fair.

Or at the very least, there's no way she could be good at the short form. It'd totally trip her up, yeah? I mean her novel unspooled so slowly and there were all those frea...more

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May 14, 2008 John rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Readers of fairy tales, fans of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

Shelves: fantasy, short-stories

I loved some of these stories, I forced myself to get through others. Not all of these are stories in the sense of having a story arc, some are little incidents with interesting characters.
All take place in the world of Susana Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, but as they are short stories, she can't twist and turn like she does in the novel.
The title story wasn't much of a story at all. It was further backstory to a footnote in the novel. It had some nice spooky atmosphere, but I wa...more

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Jan 08, 2008 Joaquin rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have to say I much preferred Susanna Clarke's 'Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell' novel to this collection of short stories, all published separately before S&N. These random glimpses into the world she's created were not as satisfying as the long, consistent exposure given in her novel. It sort of felt she was just warming up and working on getting the tone right in these shorter earlier pieces. However, one cool aspect of reading these short stories was to imagine that this book was tak...more

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Oct 22, 2012 Klytia marked it as unfinished · review of another edition

Benché la Clarke sia stata invitata da Gaiman a cimentarsi in una raccolta di racconti, è evidente che l’autrice di Jonathan Strange e Mr Norrel deve ancora raffinare la tecnica.
La prosa è sempre elegante ma è priva di quei guizzi poetici e metafore evocative che erano presenti e avevano arricchito il primo romanzo e, talvolta, cade nella monotona.
Questo priva i racconti di quel momento di creazione della tensione e dell’atmosfera che porta al crescendo delle pagine conclusive dove tutto si sc...more

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Oct 19, 2012 Julie Davis rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a collection of eight short stories that return readers to the world of Clarke’s novel, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. As I enjoyed Simon Prebble’s narration of Strange & Norrell, I returned to that format to hear these stories. Prebble shares narration duty with Davina Porter whose undeniable skill I enjoyed even more than Mr. Prebble’s and that is saying quite a lot.

Since all but one of these stories were previously published elsewhere, they vary from mere fragments (The Duke...more

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May 28, 2012 Liquid06 added it · review of another edition

Faerie is never as far away as you think. Sometimes you find you have crossed an invisible line and must cope, as best you can, with petulant princesses, vengeful owls, ladies who pass their time embroidering terrible fates or with endless paths in deep, dark woods and houses that never appear the same way twice.

I checked this book out of the library because Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell wasn't on the shelf and I was interested to read more of Susanna Clarke's work. I really enjoyed the sto...more

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Apr 17, 2012 Gary Hoggatt rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, all-fiction, alternate-history, audiobooks

The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories, published in 2006, is a collection of short stories by Susanna Clarke meant to follow-up her amazing novel Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell (see my review of Strange in my Amazon review archives), and is mostly set in that universe. The tales are enjoyable, though the collection will only whet the appetite of those looking for more of what they liked about Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell.

Eight short stories make up Ladies, and my favorites were "...more The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories, published in 2006, is a collection of short stories by Susanna Clarke meant to follow-up her amazing novel Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell (see my review of Strange in my Amazon review archives), and is mostly set in that universe. The tales are enjoyable, though the collection will only whet the appetite of those looking for more of what they liked about Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell.

Eight short stories make up Ladies, and my favorites were "Tom Brightwind, or How the Fairy Bridge was Built at Thoresby" and "John Uskglass and the Cumbrian Charcoal Burner." Besides just finding them the most enjoyable, they also seemed to me to have the strongest feel of Strange, with the amusing fey antics of Tom Brightwind and the folklore of the Raven King.

The main shortcoming of Ladies is simply that it is what it is - a collection of short stories. One of Clarke's greatest successes in the 800 page Strange was the long build up of the various plots and the layering and interplay between the characters. That just can't be replicated in a short story. What Ladies might best be viewed as is a collection of expanded footnotes from Strange, as these sorts of side stories and legends frequently appeared in the footnotes of that tale (though they often came back to be important in the grand scheme of things later in Strange ).

I listened to Ladies on audio book, as read by Davina Porter and Simon Prebble. Prebble read the entirety of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell wonderfully, and his sections of Ladies are once again very well done and enjoyable. Porter, on the other hand, just didn't work for me. Her reading seemed uneven and with little variation outside of "saccharin heroine" and "crotchety adversary."

I would definitely recommend The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories to fans of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, with the warning that Ladies is more of a quick dip back into the world of Strange, and not a full immersion. Wikipedia reports that Clarke is working on a sequel to Strange centering on the characters of Childermass and Vinculus, and I suppose I'll have to wait for that for my next big adventure into the magic of 19th century England. (less)

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Feb 11, 2012 Leah rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, short-stories, historical-fiction

This is the second time I have read this collection, and my opinion hasn't changed. Where Clarke's storytelling may have been stretched too thin in her first, epic novel Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, here it is absolutely perfectly placed. Her retelling of traditional fairy tales covers the spectrum from spooky to heart-warming, from humorous to chilling, from familiar to otherworldly.

After reading the title story, and the first in the book, I just had to stop reading and let my mind wand...more

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Jan 22, 2012 Catherine rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: bookcrossing

I seem to be going through a phase of re-told/alternative fairy tales at the moment. These are not as silly as Dahl's Revolting Rhymes, nor as bleak and impenetrable as Carter's The Bloody Chamber, and I enjoyed them immensely. I didn't read them as an adjunct to Jonathan Strange Mr Norrell - it is so long since I read it, I've forgotten many details - but could still see that the stories exist in the same world: perhaps reading these first might provide a gentle introduction to the daunting bul...more

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Oct 20, 2011 Ian Hewitt rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read this sort-of-sequel immediately after my last reading of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell which was some time ago now. Due to the vagaries of my sieve-like memory I don't recall it as well as I might, but I remember vaguely enjoying a mixed bag of stories.

Those who enjoyed Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell will more than likely enjoy this anthology equally as much. I know I did.

The Ladies of Grace Adieu is an anthology and not a sequel. In fact it is more of a collection of spin-offs than...more

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Sep 26, 2011 Sam rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favourites, fiction, literary-fiction, owned, short-stories

usanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell is one of my favourite books of all time, so as soon as I discovered that she had also written this collection of short stories set in the same world, I had to read it. Better four years late than never!

The stories in The Ladies of Grace Adieu are all set in a green, forested England where the boundary between magic and reality is very blurred. Before writing Jonathan Strange Clarke spent a lot of time researching English legends and folklore, and...more usanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell is one of my favourite books of all time, so as soon as I discovered that she had also written this collection of short stories set in the same world, I had to read it. Better four years late than never!

The stories in The Ladies of Grace Adieu are all set in a green, forested England where the boundary between magic and reality is very blurred. Before writing Jonathan Strange Clarke spent a lot of time researching English legends and folklore, and this has paid off as the stories read like authentic Grimm-style fairy tales. Most of the stories centre on the world of Faerie and it's inhabitants, the kind of world where you might wander down a never-ending path, kill someone with embroidery or fall victim to a trickster Faerie prince. There are eight stories in the collection.

Score: 4.5 out of 5

I had high hopes for this collection and it didn't disappoint. I just love the world that Clarke has created and the sinister characters in it. In some ways, the Faeries and the setting reminded me of all the Enid Blyton books I used to read as a child with fairies, goblins and dwarves (and I mean that in a good way). Like Jonathan Strange, Clarke has made this book quasi-academic with an introduction by a "professor of faerie studies" and footnotes in some of the stories. She also continues to copy the 19th century writing style. Personally I enjoy these techniques, but I know they aren't for everyone.

The stories were varied in length and some were more engaging than others. I particularly enjoyed Mr Simonelli, about a man who discovers his father was a fairy and does battle with a fairy prince. Antickes and Frets was about Mary Queen of Scots attempting to kill Queen Elizabeth by embroidering a curse into a gift for her. In The Ladies of Grace Adieu, a Jane Austen meets Brothers Grimm kind of tale, Jonathan Strange discovers that women have ancient magic too and The Duke of Wellington Misplaces His Horse is set in the village of Wall, from Neil Gaiman's Stardust. There wasn't a single story in the collection I didn't enjoy, although I thought Tom Brightwind was a touch too long.

The theme of most of the stories was humans coming up against and battling wits with fairies and other forms of magic. The secondary themes that I could see where the role of women in society and friendship between humans and fairies. The main problem with the collection was that the stories didn't seem particularly organised and there was no over-arching plot or links between them. Susanna Clarke had put together seven of these stories from previous publications and added the eighth for this collection, and it did have a slightly cobbled together feel.

But that's a minor complaint. The writing was beautiful, the book itself was beautiful and I very much enjoyed reading it. Definitely recommended for Jonathan Strange fans, it would also serve as a good introduction to Clarke's world for those put off by how long Jonathan Strange is.(less)

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Sep 01, 2011 Matthew Gatheringwater rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: bedside-books, short-fiction, science-fiction-and-fantasy

I never thought I'd prefer any other restorative pleasure to reading, but I must admit that nursing school has left me with little strength of mind or eye to close a textbook and open a novel. Short fiction has helped me cope with eyestrain and the strain upon my brain.

I read all 800 pages of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell before I started nursing school. I'd never attempt it now. But I could manage The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories which is just as entertaining and magical as her he...more

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Aug 19, 2011 Amanda rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

Can I just say, I love Susanna Clarke? I've read the mammoth Jonathon Strange and Mr. Norrell twice, including reading it, hardbound, on the elliptical machine at the gym. That is how much I love her. Her writing style is witty, wry, cheeky, scholarly, and fantastical. I love her use of footnotes, and her ability to create an entire alternate history of England that includes a nationwide acceptance of magic. She is able to incorporate fantasy elements into history so seamlessly, it staggers me....more

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Jul 29, 2011 Sam Quixote rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In this first collection of short stories, Susanna Clarke returns to the world she created in her first novel, the excellent "Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell", with more stories about the world of Faerie and England. Jonathan Strange visits his wife's brother in the town of Grace Adieu and discovers there three women who secretly practice magic and deal with any menaces that come to their town with strict severity. A re-telling of the folk tale "Tom Tit Tot" is the basis for "On Lickerish Hill"...more In this first collection of short stories, Susanna Clarke returns to the world she created in her first novel, the excellent "Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell", with more stories about the world of Faerie and England. Jonathan Strange visits his wife's brother in the town of Grace Adieu and discovers there three women who secretly practice magic and deal with any menaces that come to their town with strict severity. A re-telling of the folk tale "Tom Tit Tot" is the basis for "On Lickerish Hill" where Clarke employs rural dialect in the telling of a young woman who, in return for a favour from a faerie, must guess his name within one month or else she will become his.

My favourite was probably "Mr Simonelli, or The Faerie Widower" which is about a priest called Mr Simonelli who goes to the town of Allhope to be the new rector there and finds that the town is ruled by a mysterious fellow who lives outside the town in a ramshackle house, whose name is John Hollyshoes. The setting and the air of desolation within an isolated countryside town brought to mind the work of the Bronte sisters, especially Emily, and adds to the atmosphere of blasted heaths and doomed country folk. Who will help them? Mr Simonelli to the rescue! I thought this story was most effective as even though it's set within Clarke's world of faeries and magic and England in the regency period, it stands apart from her novel and could be read by somone unfamiliar with her work and still enjoy it.

"Tom Brightwind, or How the Fairy Bridge was Built at Thoresbury" is another cracking read as is "Mrs Mabb" both of which feel like they had been cut from Clarke's novel and resurrected here but are still pleasures to read nonetheless. The shorter stories, "The Duke of Wellington Misplaces his Horse" and "Antickes and Frets", are both about embroidery and are the less energised of the tales but fit in well between the longer tales as breathers. Both stories are about real people as well, the Duke of Wellington and Mary, Queen of Scots.

There are eight stories in this collection (more! more!) and the first seven have been published before, though I'm glad they were reprinted in this volume as I had no idea that she had had published short stories. The eighth is an unpublished story called "John Uskglass and the Charcoal Burner" which is about a charcoal burner and his pig Blakemore who thwart John Uskglass, The King of the North, and shows Clarke's comedic side in putting down probably the coolest character in her world.

As for the illustrations, they are a wonder, I am going to see about getting some books by Charles Vess, so wonderfully does he draw. And the cover of this book! So eye catching, so classy, so understated yet outstanding! In design and spirit they recall Aubrey Beardley's iconic work. One of the best designed covers I've seen this year.

Clarke writes about magic but she needs none to enchant the reader, using only her skill as a writer and her unique imagination to burn the story into your mind and float into your dreams. A highly recommended read and I'm not the only one who hopes that the sequel to "Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell" won't take her nearly as long as her first book (which I think was around ten years). Meanwhile, books like this are designed to stop the hunger but I for one am only made hungrier for more. Keep it up and keep them coming, Ms Clarke! (less)

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Dec 21, 2010 Penni Russon rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: audible listeners, neil gaiman fans

Shelves: audible

Having not read Jonathon Strange and Mr Norrell (though it's been on my shelf for ages) I was a bit bemused by the first story and almost gave up. I loved the language and atmosphere, but found the characters hard to engage with and wasn't always entirely sure exactly what was going on.

However the next story, an evocative, whimsical and cheeky retelling of the English folk tale Tom Tit Tot, totally sucked me in and from then on I was completely hooked. The two readers worked well for me, they e...more

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May 12, 2010 Paula rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

My favourites of the stories (including ‘The Ladies of Grace Adieu’), were ‘The Duke of Wellington misplaces his horse’ (which is set in the village of Wall from the book ‘Stardust’ by Neil Gaiman), ‘Tom Brightwind or how the fairy bridge was built at Thoresby’ and ‘John Uckglass and The Cumbrian Charcoal Burner’ (John Uckglass also known as The Raven King from ‘Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell’) meets his match in a charcoal burner.

‘The Ladies of Grace Adieu and other stories’ is a collection o...more

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May 05, 2010 Brittany rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Anyone who enjoyed 'Stardust' or if you just want to escape for awhile

Shelves: british, fantasy, girly-books, literary-fiction, short-stories, fiction

How I Came To Read This Book: My friend Robyn purchased this for me as a Christmas gift, under the mistaken impression I'd read other works by Clarke. Alas, this was not so, but I was still happy for the gift!

The Plot: This is a collection of ten stories, each written in a slightly different style, set in the nineteenth century. Each story concerns some element of magic or fairies, whether directly or implied. Some of the stories are decidedly familiar, such as the Rumplestiltskin-esque 'On Lick...more

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Feb 02, 2010 Tom rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fairy-tale, fantasy, legend, re-read

A marvelous collection of little gems.
A collection of short stories set in the Regency times of her bestselling Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norell. Little tales of wonder, intrigue, Faerie, the Fey, the Raven King and, of course, England.
Reminds somewhat of Neil Gaiman (especially Stardust - no wonder here, though, Susan Clarke is, if I recall correctly, a friend of Mr. Gaiman), but all of the wondrous tales therein are quite astounding, if a little disturbing. The voice and style of the writing...more

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About Susanna Clarke

Susanna Clarke was born in Nottingham in 1959. A nomadic childhood was spent in towns in Northern England and Scotland. She was educated at St Hilda's College, Oxford, and has worked in various areas of non-fiction publishing, including Gordon Fraser and Quarto. In 1990, she left London and went to Turin to teach English to stressed-out executives of the Fiat motor company. The following year she...more

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Books by Susanna Clarke

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell (Jilid II)

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell (Jilid I)

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell (Jilid III)

Drawing Down the Moon: The Art of Charles Vess

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“The governess was not much liked in the village. She was too tall, too fond of books, too grave, and, a curious thing, never smiled unless there was something to smile at.” — 16 people liked it

“Magic, madam, is like wine and, if you are not used to it, it will make you drunk.” — 16 people liked it

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