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Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

by Susanna Clarke, Portia Rosenberg (Illustrator)

3.74 of 5 stars 3.74 · rating details · 70,496 ratings · 6,329 reviews

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 sum...more

Paperback, 1006 pages

Published September 5th 2005 by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC (first published 2004)

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Apr 30, 2011 Keely rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, novel, reviewed, uk-and-ireland, favorites

Sigh, just what we need, another revolutionary, unusual fantasy book by an author with a practiced mastery of tone. When will authors like Clarke realize that what the fantasy genre needs are more pseudo-medieval monomyths that sprawl out into fifteen volumes?

Her magic didn't conveniently solve all of the characters' problems, instead, they wasted time thinking through conflicts and then had to solve them by taking action; how dull is that? The magic was weird, anyways. It didn't have a simplist...more

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Jun 20, 2007 Kelly rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Fans of gothic, Victorian, Jane Austen or fantasy literature.

Shelves: fantasy-and-scifi, favorites, fiction, brit-lit, goth-goth-baby, regency, owned, 21st-century

Without a doubt the best book I have read this year. I write that without hesitation and with a beaming smile on my face. Incredible. Enthralling. Amazing. The book was over 800 pages long and it did not seem long enough. When I finished the book, I immediately turned out the light and tried to drift off to sleep, because I knew nothing else I did that night was going to top the feeling I got after blowing through the last 100 pages like a madwoman. I want to start it over again, immediately.

The...more Without a doubt the best book I have read this year. I write that without hesitation and with a beaming smile on my face. Incredible. Enthralling. Amazing. The book was over 800 pages long and it did not seem long enough. When I finished the book, I immediately turned out the light and tried to drift off to sleep, because I knew nothing else I did that night was going to top the feeling I got after blowing through the last 100 pages like a madwoman. I want to start it over again, immediately.

The book is like reading Dickens, with the dialogue of Jane Austen, and the best writing of every classic fantasy I've read. All at once. Clarke manages to pay her homage while being entirely original herself. And the pages just keep turning and turning. You almost don't notice as 200 pages go by in less than two hours. This is a book to devour. Again, and again, and again. For those who have never been interested in the fantasy genre before, do not be put off. It's not even about the fantasy, though of course it is a major presence and the plot focuses around it. History geeks: There are three delightful, hilarious appearances by Wellington, George III and Lord Byron, as well as various Cabinet ministers of the time period.

The prose is wonderful, dead-on. Clarke has the ability to shift seamlessly from witty, sarcastic, detached prose and dialogue in the style of Jane Austen or Oscar Wilde:

"These ladies and gentlemen, visitors to the city of Venice, were excessively pleased with the Campo Santa Maria Formosa. They thought the facades of the houses very magnificent- they could not praise them highly enough. But the sad decay which buildings, bridges and church all displayed seemed to charm them even more. They were Englishmen and, to them, the decline of other nations was the most natural thing in the world. They belonged to a race so blessed with so sensitive an appreciation of its own talents (and so doubtful an opinion of any body else's) that they would not have been at all surprised to learn that the Venetians themselves had been entirely ignorant of the merits of their own city- until Englishmen had come to tell them it was delightful."

... and then shift into lines that would do any fantasy author proud: "Spring returned to England. Birds followed ploughs. Stones were warmed by the sun. Rains and winds grew softer, and were fragranced by the scents of the earth and growing things. Woods were tinged with a colour so soft, so subtle that it could scarcely be said to be a colour at all. It was more the /idea/ of a colour- as if the trees were dreaming green dreams or thinking green thoughts."

Those quotes don't do it justice, they were just ones my eyes came across when I randomly opened pages. The writing is just beyond fantastic, to say the least.

That, on top of an intriguing, well developed, /incredibly/ well researched portrait of England at the time of the Napoleonic wars? It manages to cover all the major areas that British literature is known for, all at once, in one book, and do them all justice. Clarke is also able to touch on a lot of serious issues that were present in England at the time: (racial relations, the problems of a hereditary ruling class..) She makes you aware of them as a background, but doesn't push them in your face. It's just another way she's able to make her evocation of the time period that much more perfect.

... I should perhaps have written this review with a greater distance from finishing the novel. But I think I'm justified in doing it now, if only to give an idea of the kind of amazing feeling that the book gives you from reading it and finishing it.

Books like this are why I love literature.

Read it. End of story.

(... finally.)(less)

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May 19, 2013 Steve aka Sckenda rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Lovers of Historical Fantasy and Jane Austen

Recommended to Steve aka Sckenda by: Richard

Shelves: historical-fantasy, hugo-award, nebula-award, england, magical-realism, 21c, comedy-of-maners

“If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended,
That you have but slumber'd here
While these visions did appear.
--William Shakespeare, “Midsummer Night’s Dream”

I summon magic to write this review. How do I convince you to read a thousand-page epic, without revealing its plot? Fairies attend me. “Tree speaks to stone. Stone speaks to water. Speak to me.”

In Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, Susanna Clarke enchants us with her tale about the restoration of English magic during the Na...more “If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended,
That you have but slumber'd here
While these visions did appear.
--William Shakespeare, “Midsummer Night’s Dream”

I summon magic to write this review. How do I convince you to read a thousand-page epic, without revealing its plot? Fairies attend me. “Tree speaks to stone. Stone speaks to water. Speak to me.”

In Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, Susanna Clarke enchants us with her tale about the restoration of English magic during the Napoleonic War. As the title implies, there are two magicians with differing approaches—the contemplative and the active.

Scholarly Mr. Norrell “hardly ever spoke of magic, and when he did it was like a history lesson and no one could bear to listen to him. His chief occupation is with collecting books about magic in his library and reading them.” Mr. Norrell is very cautious about the application of magic and refuses to acknowledge the Raven King.

Mr. Strange likes adventure. Whereas Mr. Norrell likes to study magic, Mr. Strange wants to practice it. “English magic today lacks spirit! It lacks fire and energy! I cannot tell you how bored I am of the same dull spells to solve the same dull problems.” (650) “An explorer cannot stay at home reading maps other men have made. A magician cannot increase the stock of magic by reading other men’s books.” (427) [Like Ralph Waldo Emerson, Mr. Strange wants trade books about the experience of others for direct experience.]

Perhaps the Prime Minister and his cabinet have some use for the services of Mr. Strange and Mr. Norrell against the forces of Napoleon Bonaparte. Yet magic, once unleashed, may have unintended consequences. Enough said!

I invoke American overstatement to capture my enchantment with Susanna Clarke’s writing and imagination: for me the air quivered with magical debris while the winds, waters, and flames mixed.

Susanna Clarke has summoned the spirit of Jane Austen, and I fear she may have sold her soul to the Raven King in order to mimic Austen’s dry wit, understatement, and irony, while, at the same time, employing Dickens’ gift for colorful characterization and names. Perhaps Clarke reveals something about her own writing style through one of her characters: “I am not one of those miserly authors who measure out their words to the last quarter ounce. I have very liberal ideas of authorship.”(660).

Clarke created an encyclopedic lore of magical information that is revealed in the plot and supplemented by hundreds of footnotes. She convinced me of the reality of Raven Kings; Aureate magicians; Lost Hope House; the gentleman with the thistle-down hair; Seventeen Dead Neapolitans; John Uskglass; the Five Dragons; a tincture of mouse; and the color of heartache.

Susanna Clarke keeps one foot in fairyland and one foot on earth, so I read her book as a novel of ideas. “It does not do for a magician to become too parochial.” (846) I interpret the rival ideas of these magicians and their disciples as competing epistemologies, theologies, religions, denominations, philosophies, political parties-- and all the isms, schisms, and subdivisions into which bickering humans fall and fragment.

We who become too parochial in thinking become blind partisans. When we do so, we fall under a spell as if we are enchanted by a fairy. We don’t see clearly.

We lack generosity. We trust too much those who share our worldview while assuming the worst of those who think differently. Clarke channels the spirits of Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes and J.S. Mill:

It is not the duty of the court –any court—to exalt one person’s opinions above others! Not in magic no in any other sphere of life. If other magicians think differently from you, then you must battle it out with them. You must prove the superiority of your opinions, as I do in politics. You must argue and publish and practice your magic and you must learn to live as I do—in the face of constant criticism, opposition and censure. That, sir, is the English way. (439)

The squabbles of factions of confused magicians remind me of how people fight the wrong enemies. Nothing is so firmly believed as what is least known. We don’t recognize our true enemies or the real roots of the problem because rancorous dogmatism blinds in the same way that magical spells blind.

My Conclusion
From these pages oozes a generosity of spirit which appeals to me. This is a kind book. I found Susanna Clarke a soothing and congenial companion, whom I read at a challenging time. My friend Richard Van Holst commended this book to me many months ago (and I saw that dozens of my friends had read and overwhelmingly approved the book). Thank you to Richard and to goodreaders who traveled the fairy roads before me, and also, my thanks to Meadowlace, Robin Summerfly, and Buttercup for enchanting me to an act of madness -- to devote to reading a thousand pages with no idea of where I was going.

According to Wordsworth, the child is the father of the man and our sense of wonder leaks out as we outgrow childhood. This book about the restoration of English magic restored my diminishing supply of wonder. I feel the magic, the wonder, and the equilibrium returning. “Give me your hands if we be friends. And Robin shall restore amends.”

December 7, 2012(less)

74 likes · like · see review

Jul 13, 2007 Eric rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I so wanted to like this book. The idea is just wonderful. I was so pleased for a while to be in that world, a historical England. I love the dialogue and descriptions. And I love the idea of magic in an otherwise real setting, as though it were a normal part of our actual world. But it was so frustrating to read after a while. The footnotes, auuuugh, the footnotes. They were cute at first, because the book is written sort of like a history book from that period. But after a while they were just...more I so wanted to like this book. The idea is just wonderful. I was so pleased for a while to be in that world, a historical England. I love the dialogue and descriptions. And I love the idea of magic in an otherwise real setting, as though it were a normal part of our actual world. But it was so frustrating to read after a while. The footnotes, auuuugh, the footnotes. They were cute at first, because the book is written sort of like a history book from that period. But after a while they were just so long and so unrelated to the main story that they became seriously cumbersome. And just when the story would be getting involved, she'd fast forward 2 years or 10 years and the last part of the story, though unresolved, would be pretty much forgotten. Boooo!

The end was annoying, or rather the way the main characters reacted to it. It's fiction, it's fantasy, but when you're writing about basic human beings who have otherwise behaved consistently throughout the book, and then they react to something in a way you know isn't consistent and isn't how people would act, it pops the bubble of your suspended disbelief and sort of ruins the story. Another annoying thing is that we keep waiting to learn more about why Mr. Norrell acts the way he does, but we never do learn. He's just a pill and that's it. That's poor writing, No motivations for him, no insight into his character. So really he just serves a function in the book that could have been served by an inanimate object.

Overall the book is just filled with too many things that seem to have no point. It's not that they aren't interesting by themselves or couldn't have been made into something wonderful, it's just that they are tossed out there randomly and not connected to anything. In that way, the cold, dispassionate history book style disappoints, because what we really want is a story. We want to care about the characters and see resolution of some kind. Booo!

There will apparently be more books set in this world, but I won't be reading them. It's just too much of a time investment in a seemingly great idea that doesn't pay off.(less)

135 likes · like · see review

Jul 17, 2012 Paul rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: really-big-timeconsumers, novels, modernvictorian

If a novel of nearly 900 pages can be summarised in one phrase then Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell may, I think, be described as a stately, sly, witty, intricate, comic retelling of Dracula, with digressions and very little blood.

Count Dracula takes life from beautiful young ladies, enslaves them, enchants them, enraptures them, steals them away, into his own twilight (oops, sorry) vampire world – they become something other than what they were, undead, not alive yet not dead, creatures which...more

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Dec 17, 2012 mark monday rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: alpha-team, foggy-nights

the hero of this novel, Mr. Norrell, is in many ways a stranger in a strange land, uncomfortable with base emotions and disappointed with the shabbiness and inadequacies of others... yet always yearning for true companionship. a dignified, erudite, and refined gentleman: quietly soulful and elegantly restrained; commanding in his encyclopedic knowledge of the magical arts.

the other character, a fey and unreliable sort apparently named "Jonathan Strange", offers fleeting friendship that is quick...more

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Apr 25, 2013 Megan Baxter rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was written back in January. I'm not sick now!

Books to avoid when you're feverish:

Infinite Jest
Headhunter

And the part of this book when Strange starts to toy with madness - which, of course, was the part I was at when I was stricken down with the flu. I'm recuperating now, but I still can't sit upright under my own steam for more than a couple of minutes, which would explain why I'm trying to write this on my lap on the couch while reclining back so I don't get dizzy. This virus sucks.

Anywa...more

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Oct 08, 2009 Ceridwen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Ceridwen by: Choupette & Whitaker

Shelves: alternate-history, faeries, rule-britannia, fantasy, the-housewife

Choupette's review captures the essence and beauty of this book, and you should totally read it.

This book devastated me, which seems out of place given its winking tone and meandering story-telling style. Its always seemed to me that there are two kinds of magic: sleight of hand and magic. Because this book was avowedly about the the latter, I forgot about the former, forgot that storytellers are tricksters and liars, conjuring people out of the air and dancing them about so that your attention...more

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Aug 18, 2007 Tiza rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Everyone who loves fantasy, 19th century British lit and can endure long, slow read

Shelves: favorites, fantasy

Although Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell turns out to be a book I dearly love, I'm afraid I can't recommend it to just anyone. Whether you'll like it or not will truly depend on what you expect it to be. If you wish for a fast-paced excitement then this book is probably not for you. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell is a blend of meticulously researched historical fiction and imaginative fantasy, sprinkled here and there with biting social comedy, and written in a style similar to Austen's, whic...more Although Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell turns out to be a book I dearly love, I'm afraid I can't recommend it to just anyone. Whether you'll like it or not will truly depend on what you expect it to be. If you wish for a fast-paced excitement then this book is probably not for you. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell is a blend of meticulously researched historical fiction and imaginative fantasy, sprinkled here and there with biting social comedy, and written in a style similar to Austen's, which is, of course, relevant to the age in which the story takes place, the early years of 19th century England. The plot mainly focuses in the revival of magic in England, an art that has been long fallen into disuse but still theoretically studied by many. Among these people two gentlemen who actually practise the art come into the spotlight: the tedious, reclusive Gilbert Norrell and his pupil Jonathan Strange. The story further unfurls with the appearance of a certain silver-haired fairy, Norrell's and Strange's involvements in the Napoleonic Wars, and also the revelation of the prophecy of The Raven King in all its mythical grandeur.

JS & MN is a long, meandering read that needs to be slowly savoured, not to be rushed. I started reading it feeling a little bit wary myself,the first hundred pages being undeniably dragging. But I soon came to a certain point where something just clicked, and from there on it was almost impossible to put it down. This book is over 1000 pages long, and yet, as I close the book in completion, I asked myself of how 1000 pages could seemingly be so terribly short.

For me, who end up liking this book, JS & MN is a true charmer, compelling in all its subtlety, imaginative, witty and beautifully written. Clarke has a flair in language use. She employs the right words at all the right moments to make us feel exactly what she intends us to feel, and see exactly what she wants us to see. With this ability at hands she creates a fine balance of myths, magic, history, warfare, politic and mundane domestic life. Clarke treats magic as an object of study in the truest sense. Some parts of the book read like an academic essay, with long studious arguments of why such and such magic can or cannot be done, various citations from the works of great magicians long dead, and insanely lengthy footnotes (which people ever so often think as annoying distractions, yet I found them really fun to read). She also has a perfect grasp about the age in which her characters are living. Thus her writing comes off convincingly like a product of 19th century British literature (though it has the virtue of being more comprehensible), perfectly written with all the old spellings: chuse, sopha, shew, surprize.

Clarke's characterisation is definitely one of the best elements in the book. The characters, be it the main protagonists or otherwise, are solidly drawn and interesting, as lovable as they are flawed. Strange, though not someone who is altogether admirable, is charming and generally more likable, and yet narrow-minded Norrell, with all his jealousy and peevishness, feels all too human that I couldn't help but sympathise with him even when I didn't want to.

A literary merit though this book is, please be warned that not everyone will find it fascinating. If you're halfway through the book and it still doesn't pique your interest, put it down then, save your precious time. But if you're halfway through and already been absorbed it's very likely you'll be graced with something that stays with you days and weeks after you finished reading it. I know it did this for me. Definitely one of those rare treats I'd be willingly and gladly re-read each year.(less)

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Mar 23, 2012 Carol rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Victorian fantasy fans, insomniacs

Shelves: classic, fantasy, male-lead, my-library, time-period-fantasy, awards

In the beginning was a preface, and then an introduction, followed by some exposition, and then an opening.

Looking through the reviews, it appears many people either adore it or hate it. Frankly, I'm in neither camp, because I can't work up enough emotion to care. It took a long time to become interested, and I finally had to resort to a strategy of reading only a few chapters at a time, setting free any expectation that this was a book that would pull me in and never let me go. It became the p...more In the beginning was a preface, and then an introduction, followed by some exposition, and then an opening.

Looking through the reviews, it appears many people either adore it or hate it. Frankly, I'm in neither camp, because I can't work up enough emotion to care. It took a long time to become interested, and I finally had to resort to a strategy of reading only a few chapters at a time, setting free any expectation that this was a book that would pull me in and never let me go. It became the perfect book to read before bed, a non-habit forming Ambien that avoided unpleasant dreams while lulling me into sleep. The language and structure of the tale is a formidable barrier to easy enjoyment; this is Great Expectations, the original, uncut director's copy, thick enough in mass market paperback to soak with water and turn into a paper-mache brick. The final obstacle to delight is the general distastefulness of Mr. Norrell. This is improved somewhat when Jonathan Strange enters the tale, and for a while I was able to read without Mr. Sandman paying a visit.

I found much of the tale philosophizing about the character of England, and the distinctions between the north and the south tedious as they are somewhat non-accessible and lack relevance to the non-English. In some ways, I suspect the cultural conflict might resemble American regional conflicts, but it takes a talented author to make the conflict relevant across oceans and time. I understand Clarke is doing; I just lack interest in the subject matter, so the voice starts to sound a lot like the adults in Charlie Brown. Muhua wa wa...

Unfortunately, the writing style and it's take on various popular Victorian styles is monotonous for me. Although I enjoy the 19th century British mysteries, and Wodehousian humor, Clarke has neither the tightly woven mystery nor the snappy dialogue that keeps me interested in those forms. When it comes to writing style, I can see why some people would find her writing interesting, especially if they are fans of the time period; it just fails to resonate for me in the way it is presented. The footnotes occasionally amusing as they frequently contain opinionated commentary. I read recently that Clarke wrote the story in "bundles" and ended up working at fitting them together. In retrospect, this might explain some of the jumps in plotting and setting, and account for the way plots were set down and then picked up a hundred pages later.

I was pleased to discover the magical or supernatural elements play a larger role than I expected from reading other reviews. One of the characters and plotlines I struggled with was that of the "white-haired gentleman." While it certainly brought magical elements to the story, I felt like he was a distraction and never fully woven into the plot. His obsession with Stephen, was particularly odd, and I never felt like I understood it's connection to Norrell and Strange.

Clarke does sprinkle gentle humor throughout the story that occasionally caused twitters or giggles. One of the first lines to make me laugh:

"He was so clean and healthy and pleased about everything that he positively shone--which is only to be expected in a fairy or an angel but is somewhat disconcerting in an attorney."

Cross posted at http://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2013/0...

(less)

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Apr 22, 2013 Clouds - (¿head-in-the?) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: hugo, locus-first-novel, fantasy, fantasy-stand-alone, reviewed, 5-star, read-in-2013

Following the resounding success of my Locus Quest, I faced a dilemma: which reading list to follow it up with? Variety is the spice of life, so I’ve decided to diversify and pursue six different lists simultaneously. This book falls into my HUGO WINNERS list.

This is the reading list that follows the old adage, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". I loved reading the Locus Sci-Fi Award winners so I'm going to crack on with the Hugo winners next (but only the post-1980 winners, I'll follow up with...more

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Oct 17, 2012 Jonathan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-challenge, personal-favourites, fantasy, popularity-contest

Amazing, astounding, supertastical, brilliant. These are all just a handful of the real (and created) adjectives at my disposal to throw at this book. However I believe that were I to get into an adjective war this book would defeat me hands down with the potency of the words inside. And having done so would commence to bury me in a pile of prose so powerful that I would be diabolically destroyed.

I loved this hauntingly beautiful book. It was well written with the careful and clear strokes of a...more Amazing, astounding, supertastical, brilliant. These are all just a handful of the real (and created) adjectives at my disposal to throw at this book. However I believe that were I to get into an adjective war this book would defeat me hands down with the potency of the words inside. And having done so would commence to bury me in a pile of prose so powerful that I would be diabolically destroyed.

I loved this hauntingly beautiful book. It was well written with the careful and clear strokes of a master artist. A woman who clearly loves words and language and with abounding wit. An author who believed in her world with passion. She wasn't simply writing but creating a world with such clarity.

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell focuses on two magicians in the early 1800s as they attempt to bring back the practice of English magic. Introduce fairies, madness and the intricacies of magic and you're not even half way to begin understanding the intricacies of the plot. In fact I doubt anyone can sum up the plot in several words the way that Susanna Clarke writes it.

The real power of this novel is in how Susanna Clarke analyses the two protagonists. Most novels only build half a perspective of who the characters are. In this work the author builds a complex and detailed perspective of who all her characters are. While the two magicians are the most fleshed out, so that the reader may observe their flaws and strengths, even secondary characters are exposed as human beings. These are not half hearted portrayals but rather creations of words designed to show depth and meaning.

But its not simply the characters that reveal depth and intrigue. The world Susanna Clarke imagines is so vividly described that it feels a part of history. In many ways this world is written so that it feels like an ancient true event is being described. The addition of Lord Byron and mention of Mr and Mrs Shelley added to such a tone. The value of an intelligent, resourceful writer who does her research is thus revealed.

So what are the weaknesses of this book. Some would say the length, although I found that the length allowed for such a development of world and characters. Though this is the longest book* I've read from cover to cover stand alone it is one of the best I've read also. I could complain about the footnotes. But they were amazing and added to the depth of the world. Providing details such as book titles, magical theories, tales of magic and magicians of the past expanded the book for me in a nice way. I guess that leaves me to pick faults with the use of shewing and chuse instead of showing and chose. But those obsolete words were used to help create the tone of 1800s England and despite disliking them at first their use grew on me by the end.

This is a magnificent book and if you can get around the length is very much worth reading for all lovers of books. You could always 'cheat' and listen to the audio book version. Although I prefer to use them to heighten the experience of having read the book. However if you are a meticulous reader, or even a quick reader like me I recommend reading another book at the same time. For this is hardly a page turner but rather a book you must slowly devour like a fine dessert or beverage.

*Now the second or third longest thanks to Atlas Shrugged and some fantasy books or two

Postscript

If you're looking for more books featuring magicians I'd also recommend: The Prestige and possibly The Night Circus though The Night Circus is a polarising book and should be picked up with that in mind.(less)

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Apr 25, 2013 Kyle rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, alphabet-challenge

This book represents, for me, everything that makes Goodreads great. I never heard of this book before coming to Goodreads. It was through connections with other people and becoming friends, and perhaps some passive-aggressive bullying (you know who you are!) that I finally found this book; it feels like it was tailor-made for me, and it has made my life feel richer.

I need to remember to maintain composure; I'm a gentleman, after all, and gentlemen must not make fools of themselves. There is a p...more This book represents, for me, everything that makes Goodreads great. I never heard of this book before coming to Goodreads. It was through connections with other people and becoming friends, and perhaps some passive-aggressive bullying (you know who you are!) that I finally found this book; it feels like it was tailor-made for me, and it has made my life feel richer.

I need to remember to maintain composure; I'm a gentleman, after all, and gentlemen must not make fools of themselves. There is a proper way of telling the world what I think of this book and, my good reader, I plan on sticking to that proper way! So it is with poise, civility, and calm propriety that I tell you, without reservation: "THIS BOOK IS F____ AWESOME!" Like, 'Bam! In your face!' awesome. Only, you don't realize it until it's already in your face, being awesome.

This book is a history book chronicling the ... wait, whoa! What happened there? *shakes head* It's like I came under an enchantment, or something. No, this book is a Fictional Novel. I must remind myself this is not real; it is fiction, it is fiction..... I think I might just be losing touch with reality. Or rather, perhaps Susanna Clarke's reality has now begun to take me over. It's so real I'm not sure I can make the distinction between life and literature any longer! Clarke's magical take on history is so carefully crafted, that I feel like I could pull one of my history books off my shelf, and open it to the section where Gilbert Norrell and Jonathan Strange helped revive English magic. I feel like Napoleon really was thwarted by magic, and lost Waterloo because of a single spell. I feel like the Geography of Spain really is different today than it was before 1800, and the madness of King George really was exacerbated by the meddling of fairies.

So too, do the people inhabiting the pages seem real. Their personalities, emotions and characters are revealed, not through omniscient musings or expository ramblings, but gradually over time, through actions and words. They think about things in a very real way: slowly, and often mistakenly.

This is not a faced-paced, car chase and explosions on every page, book. It is not a shallow book, for people only looking for a good time (it doesn't even have a phone number to call). Instead, it is a slow book, in the way that true Italian cuisine is slow food. It is a methodical book, and it isn't going to rush around to anything; because really, magical history should not be rushed anyway. It should be savored. This book has all the right ingredients, mixed in a deceptively easy way, and it is cooked at the perfect temperature. The final result is absolutely delicious; it's a meal tasty enough to eat every day, yet healthy enough to not make you feel bad about eating it so much.

I've heard this book compared to a mix of Jane Austen and Harry Potter, but I find that comparison to be more of an insult to the book than an accurate portrayal. Sure, there is magic. OK, it takes places in the early 1800s, and in Britain. And yes, there is a healthy dose of satire and social commentary. But, there are many other books which fall into those categories, so I generally find the comparisons of this book to be inadequate. This book can stand alone, and it stands as a masterpiece.

_______________________________________

Note: This was a buddy read with Jocelyn, whose review can be seen here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...(less)

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Apr 26, 2013 Apatt rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: top-20, fantasy-top20

Neil Gaiman said that this book is "hard to overpraise", I will make an attempt thus:

While I was reading the second half of this book it occurred to me that I don't actually need to read any other novel ever again, I could just read this one book over and over again for the rest of my days and when the Grim Reaper calls I shall have this book clutched possessively in my stiff, unyielding fingers.

Momentary insanity of course, but it is indicative of the devotion I feel toward this book. With in t...more

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Dec 11, 2008 Craig rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: pleasant-surprises, scifi-and-fantasy

NOTE: I didn't put the spoiler flag on this review because it technically doesn't give anything big away. Nevertheless it does come pretty close. So, if want to dive into the book completely clean you might consider moving on. You have been warned.

On with the review. First off, this is not Harry Potter for grown ups. I really hate it when people use that lazy comparison not only because it's completely stupid but because it isn't even remotely true.

With that off my chest, I can say that this is...more

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Mar 20, 2008 Vilja rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Actually a really good book. Loved the detail and all the footnotes. But in case you have no patience to read a long and rambly book, but want to know what happens, here's a recap:

---

Mr Norrell
I've spent all my life studying magic and now I'm going to revive it in England. By which I mean I want everyone to see how good I am and admire me. Fairy, revive Lady Pole so the cabinet ministers will be impressed with me.

The gentleman with thistle-down hair
Ooh, how pretty! (Revives Lady Pole, then encha...more

93 likes · like · see review

Apr 27, 2013 Jocelyn rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Jocelyn by: Jonathan

Shelves: alex-likes-this-hmmm, jonathan-demands-it, ordered-or-approved-by-scribble, keely-s-favorite-so-it-must-be-good, marie-likes, favorites, interesting-stuff, supersize-monster, unforgettably-awesome, yay-kyle-likes-it

Note: this review is hopefully only temporary, as I was stuck in a writing slump and found myself unable to come up with anything worthwhile, but they say that the best way to overcome it is to just fucking write.

So, for what it's worth-

Clarke is undoubtedly a talented writer, yet I think to call her simply that wouldn’t do justice to her skill. She’s not just skillful, she’s also devastatingly creative, expertly combining a fully realized Victorian setting with the magical elements of the fant...more

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May 27, 2007 Colin rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anglophiles, historical fiction fans

Shelves: fiction

I'd heard for a long time how amazing this book was, and I was decidedly unmoved by it. I did read the whole thing, and at 800 pages, that felt like an accomplishment. Clarke obviously put a lot of work into the back story, creating an entire historical library of magic that is cited in footnotes throughout. That kind of detailed work is, i suppose, admirable. However, I found the two main characters (rich white English men) boring. I couldn't bring myself to really care what happened to them, a...more

33 likes · like · see review

Dec 24, 2007 Meagan rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Jesus Christ, this book reads like molasses. It's like the author took every book from her Brit Lit class and consciously tried to make it wordier and longer than all of them combined. I get the point she wants to make, but I honestly could not get past the second chapter.

It also was so incredibly pretentious. The whole thing has this superior feel, like having a conversation with someone who is absolutely reassured of how much smarter they are than you. It left me feeling bored, stupid, depres...more

69 likes · like · see review

Jan 09, 2013 Wendy Darling rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adult, skimmed-or-unfinished, paranormal-general, victorian, historical-fiction

This was extremely well-written and I found the story engaging, BUT:

a. no book needs to be this long
b. it's really irritating when there are so many (fictional and "clever") footnotes, many of which take up more page space than the actual novel.

Didn't finish it for that reason, as I lost my patience after about 200 hundred pages.

17 likes · like · see review

Jan 13, 2013 Aubrey rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 1000-guardian, ever-on, man-booker, 5-star, reviewed, reality-check

Let us start at the beginning, shall we?

I've seen the Jane Austen comparisons, and for a while, that was the truest description of the book. Oh, you had your magic, but it was all very clean cut and bureaucratic and properly filed out in a mix of social gatherings and book references. All very English, is the closest I can get to a suitable description. And so I resigned myself to collecting witty quotes while perusing a charming yet not so remarkable tale of gentlemen magicians.

Lucky for me, th...more Let us start at the beginning, shall we?

I've seen the Jane Austen comparisons, and for a while, that was the truest description of the book. Oh, you had your magic, but it was all very clean cut and bureaucratic and properly filed out in a mix of social gatherings and book references. All very English, is the closest I can get to a suitable description. And so I resigned myself to collecting witty quotes while perusing a charming yet not so remarkable tale of gentlemen magicians.

Lucky for me, things began to get interesting. The description encompassed by the single word 'English' slowly thinned to a much more vague phrase of 'English, beyond what the senses can comprehend'. Something that can readily be applied to every aspect of the novel.

Don't put this in the same class as Harry Potter, just another alternate history that takes after the real world so much that you find yourself wishing it could replace boring reality with its magical self, its similarities to current circumstances ensuring minimal consequences. The footnotes guide you into that presumption with the ease of an extremely talented storyteller, as the author builds a story you feel you can completely trust and believe in. But that is only the surface of Clarke's skill, and the way she reflects the story's progression with the style of her writing is nothing short of incredible.

For in this story, magic is real, raw, and writhing itself into a frenzy beneath the fragile skin of your world, and the ease of its use is only matched by the ease by which it consumes. Instead, be grateful for your mundane and solid existence, lest you find yourself snatched away to a flimsy plane, where the only thing morality has in common with physics is the insubstantial humanness they are based upon; something that falls apart so easily in the land of Fairy. Lest you join the myriad characters throughout the story, ones that for all their varied personalities and behaviors share the naive opinion that magic can be ordered and constrained and adapted to human use, all the while dancing to the whim and weave of the Raven King. For he is the only aspect of the novel that I put any stock into, and even that is probably a misguided attempt at keeping my balance.

And, at the end, you have a seeming return to the balance of the beginning, a twist that puts you where you started, albeit with a new appreciation for subtlety and, I hope, a sense of wonder at the journey.(less)

21 likes · like · see review

Feb 26, 2013 Mosca rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, to-be-re-read

Having just this afternoon finished this book, I am quite stunned by both the narrative, the story, and the world view.

The weave of parody, darkness, comedy of manners, historical context, and a complex fantasy world leaves many questions for the reader to sit with. Not the least of these is how seriously does Susanna Clarke take many of the philosophical questions that many of the characters take quite seriously.

But my uncertainty does not change my feelings that this is an excellent read.

Th...more

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Mar 16, 2012 Jacob added it · review of another edition

Shelves: i-own, sci-fi-fantasy-etc, 2011, read-before-goodreads

Ok, fine, you caught me. I confess. I didn't actually finish this book in time to list it on my 2011 challenge, and I didn't finish it in January either. Sorry. Sorry, everyone.

I first read JS&MN in 2006, while recovering from an appendectomy...although when I say "recovering," I really mean "being lazy." I'd been horribly sick one day and had sharp pains in my right side the next, so I diagnosed myself with appendicitis and went straightaway to the hospital (where the doctor seemed annoyed...more Ok, fine, you caught me. I confess. I didn't actually finish this book in time to list it on my 2011 challenge, and I didn't finish it in January either. Sorry. Sorry, everyone.

I first read JS&MN in 2006, while recovering from an appendectomy...although when I say "recovering," I really mean "being lazy." I'd been horribly sick one day and had sharp pains in my right side the next, so I diagnosed myself with appendicitis and went straightaway to the hospital (where the doctor seemed annoyed that I had consulted WebMD and insisted on calling it a "tummy-ache" [honestly, a tummy-ache! I was 19!] until he saw my white cell count), and had the appendix out long before it burst--if that had even been a possibility. Would a gangrenous appendix have burst? The surgeon didn't say. But I digress. My appendix was gone, and although I felt fine I decided to milk that baby for all it was worth, so I took two weeks off from work (doctor's orders) and decided to read a long book while I "recovered" (not doctor's orders, although that would've been cool).

So, I think I'll forever associate Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell as The Top Book To Read While Convalescing From Some Kind Of Surgery. If I had had any sense, I would've reread it in December 2010 after my cornea transplant: I certainly had enough free time after that, and I still had one good eye (while the other slowly healed), so it would have been easy to recreate the experience. Didn't happen. Doyle's Exploits and Adventures of Brigadier Gerard made for good readin' instead.

Which brings us to now, or last November. I didn't have any minor (or major) surgery this winter, so when I picked up JS&MN with the intention of rereading it, the atmosphere wasn't there. My appendix hadn't regenerated and burst again, my other cornea hadn't deteriorated enough to require a transplant yet, and my health was fairly good overall, so I didn't have the leisure to curl up with Ms. Clarke's wonderful novel and read it without a care.

And that's why I didn't finish this book.

Maybe I should give up a kidney next. Or my tonsils. Honestly, why haven't my wisdom teeth grown in yet?
(less)

10 likes · like · see review

Mar 24, 2008 Martine rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Jane Austen fans and lovers of original fantasy fiction

Shelves: british, fantasy, historical-fiction, modern-fiction, pseudo-nineteenth-century

You have to give Susanna Clarke props for ambition. In itself, her combination of fantasy and well-researched historical fiction isn’t new. Guy Gavriel Kay has made a career out of it, and a very good one, too. (If you haven’t read any Kay, do yourself a favour and rectify that situation as soon as possible. Seriously, the man is brilliant.) However, to write a huge historical fantasy novel in the language of the time in which the story is set is a different feat altogether, and in Jonathan Stra...more You have to give Susanna Clarke props for ambition. In itself, her combination of fantasy and well-researched historical fiction isn’t new. Guy Gavriel Kay has made a career out of it, and a very good one, too. (If you haven’t read any Kay, do yourself a favour and rectify that situation as soon as possible. Seriously, the man is brilliant.) However, to write a huge historical fantasy novel in the language of the time in which the story is set is a different feat altogether, and in Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell Clarke almost pulls it off. Almost, but not quite.

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell is the story of two wizards who change the course of early-nineteenth-century history while failing to notice the many strange things that are going on in the lives of those around them. The first quarter of the book centres on Mr Norrell, a reticent old man who believes he is the only practical magician in England and longs to do something great and useful with his powers. After a bit of a struggle for recognition, he is employed as a weapon in England’s struggle against France, which is just then getting a bit uppity in Europe. Then, suddenly, a second magician appears on the scene -- the much younger and more likeable Jonathan Strange. Mr Norrell takes Strange on as his pupil, and for a while the two magicians work side by side, until, in the grand tradition of such things, their relationship turns sour and master and student become rivals. What follows will determine not just their fates, but many people’s, and indeed the fate of magic in England.

Clarke tackles many themes in her 800-page book, both genuine and fantastical. First of all, there’s the pseudo-historical angle in which Strange helps the Duke of Wellington beat Napoleon, tries to cure the madness of King George III and meets other interesting characters of the time. Secondly, there are various social issues, such as the relationship between the classes and the art of knowing one’s place in the greater scheme of things. Last but not least, there’s a spooky alternate universe with which the magicians get to deal, for as they find out rather late in the book, the good old Celtic world of Faerie is far from dead in nineteenth-century England. Clarke doesn’t go in for the kind of thorough world-building many other fantasy authors favour, but her scholarly take on Faerie (set out in weird but oddly entertaining page-long footnotes and journal articles) is consistent, intriguing and original -- a word one doesn’t often come across in reviews of fantasy books.

That said, it took me a bit of time to get into the book. The main problem (as so often with me) was of a linguistic nature -- to wit, the faux-Austenesque quality of the writing. Clarke has an excellent shot at Austen’s dry, witty brand of English, but for the first one hundred pages I simply wasn’t taken in. Rather than being transported straight to Regency England, I was acutely aware of the artificiality of the language, to the point where I occasionally felt like I was reading an unintentional Austen spoof. It didn’t help that the early part of the book centred on a prim, petty, vain old man to whom I couldn’t relate and that the writing was rather detached. I persevered, though, and I’m glad I did, for about 150 pages into the book things began to fall into place. Not only did I get used to Clarke’s language, but I began to enjoy it, finding pleasure in her subtle satire and in such throwaway phrases as ‘there is no word in the English language for a magician’s garden two hundred years after the magician is dead’, which evokes all sorts of things without actually describing them. Even better, Jonathan Strange finally entered the picture, and suddenly the novel got a whole lot better. It got youth. It got flamboyance. It got fabulous feats of magic. It got rivalry. It got loyalty and betrayal, madness and obsessions and characters being redeemed from zombie-like existences. It got a pretty entertaining take on history. It got a cameo by Lord Byron (a boon to any historical fantasy novel -- see The Anubis Gates). And most of all, it got a heart, although the writing continued to be a bit more detached than I liked. Thanks to all these things, I ended up quite enjoying the book, laughing out loud at some of Clarke’s more entertaining notions, such as generals wishing to replace their cavalry’s horses with unicorns so as to gore Frenchmen through their hearts, or Jonathan Strange temporarily moving Brussels to America to get it out of Napoleon’s way because ‘[America] always looks so empty on the maps’. Jane Austen never came up with anything like that, and that’s a compliment.

In the end, then, I enjoyed Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell quite a bit. I didn’t love it as much as I had hoped, but I certainly admired it. If only Jonathan Strange could have entered the story a bit earlier and if only the writing could have been a bit less detached, I'd probably have given the book five stars. Not bad, given my initial frustrations with it.

(One day I’ll learn to write concise reviews. Sigh.)
(less)

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Apr 05, 2010 JSou rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, historical-fiction, i-own-you

This poor book, it's in rough shape. It has sat on my bookshelf for over a year in perfect condition, but now...it's not pretty. I've lugged it around for weeks on the chance I could sneak in a page or two, the cover's all bent up from when I fell asleep on it, and my can of Diet Dr. Pepper got knocked over and spilled all over the corner. Having spent so much time reading and unwillingly damaging this, it feels strange to be without it now that I'm finished.

I wasn't really sure what to expect f...more

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Jan 22, 2013 Koeeoaddi rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: deliberately-paced, 2013, audiobook, haunted, favorites

I don't know if it's Stockholm Syndrome (as Jennifer aka EM mentioned in her comments on War and Peace) or if I really did wind up loving this book after the two thousand years it took me to read it. What I do know is, now that it's over, I want to back the whole thing up, make a three point turn and start it all over again.

Note on the audiobook: Simon Prebble is a brilliant narrator!

10 likes · like · see review

Apr 17, 2013 Jon added it · review of another edition

Shelves: alternate-history, fantasy, fiction, historical-fiction, award-winners, hugo-winner, nebula-nominee, read-in-my-40s, loved-it

4 stars

Due to the acquisition of GoodReads by Amazon on March 28, 2013 and my existing and continuing boycott of all things Amazon, the review I wrote after reading this book now resides, safe and secure, at my blog. You can read it by following this link: http://bit.ly/11iF4Si

8 likes · like · see review

Apr 02, 2011 Milo rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 10-stars, fantasy, crazy-as-a-sprayed-roach, defies-categorization, strangers-have-the-best-candy

It certainly takes a powerful kind of magic to propel me through a tome like Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell at the pace that I went. It had the captivating air of a refreshing new world full of fun insights that kept me interested as I read it. I slowly burned away my free time after school and work with my nose buried in this book. Generally I appreciate the quick and dirty reads that start fast and end fast with lots of nonsensical fluff to keep my brain preoccupied, but Susanna Clarke prov...more

16 likes · like · see review

Nov 23, 2011 Terry rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, fantasy, historical-fiction

Fantastic story. One of the few that actually lives up to the hype. Be warned though: this is a loooong book and it is true that, from one point of view at least, it can be said that not too much happens in it. The title tells us what the two main sections of the book will cover: the lives of the last two true magicians in an alternate 19th century Britain. They are the bookish, annoying and altogether full of himself Mr. Norrell and the flighty, brilliant and altogether full of himself Jonathan...more Fantastic story. One of the few that actually lives up to the hype. Be warned though: this is a loooong book and it is true that, from one point of view at least, it can be said that not too much happens in it. The title tells us what the two main sections of the book will cover: the lives of the last two true magicians in an alternate 19th century Britain. They are the bookish, annoying and altogether full of himself Mr. Norrell and the flighty, brilliant and altogether full of himself Jonathan Strange.

What follows is a fantasy book as written by Jane Austen by way of Neil Gaiman. Of course it's much more, and better, than that trite description implies. Mr. Norrell is a man who wants to 'own' magic. At the beginning of the story he is the sole active practitioner of the Art which has up to that point devolved into a purely academic pursuit. He has seemingly made it his life's work to hoard every available resource on the Art in England and force every other so-called Magician to abjure their claim to its practice if they cannot meet his challenge.

Jonathan Strange, on the other hand, is a young and carefree man of means flitting from interest to interest, unable to find any focus in his life. Until, that is, he discovers his unique talent for magic and ends up coming into direct contention with dour Mr. Norrell. The relationship that develops between these two characters is very interesting as Norrell, for his part, sees Strange as both his greatest adversary and, conversely, an apt pupil who is the only equal with whom the lonely old man can converse with any real pleasure or surprise. Strange finds Norrell infuriating and irritating in about equal measure, yet still seems drawn to the older man's knowledge.

In the background of the story of these two magicians and the rebirth of English Magic in general (and fueling its movement forward), are two figures of legend: the puckish Gentleman with thistledown hair (a fae inadvertently brought to the human world via some ill-advised early magic by Norrell) and the enigmatic Raven King (a human named John Uskglass, the once and future magical high-king of Britain, a human adopted into Faerie in the Middle Ages). These two figures loom large in the story, the former explicitly as he attempts to meddle with the human world for his own mischievous ends (as the fae are wont), the other much more subtly as his influence is more felt than seen behind the entirety of English magic.

The only great fault with the story is perhaps the fact that the two title characters, for all of their deeds and interactions, still sometimes seem to remain somewhat enigmatic cyphers in the background of their own stories. In many ways the secondary characters of John Childermass, Vinculus, and Stephen Black are more interesting than the protagonists. Despite this though, the story is well-told. It has a charming, archaic style that is thoroughly enjoyable which makes heavy use of academic footnotes, some of which are even more amusing and enlightening than the story on which they comment.

Overall a great story and very immersive book that I highly recommend. (less)

22 likes · like · see review

Jul 02, 2012 Stephanie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, british, mystery, fantasy, 50-book-2012

I may love this book. No really, I may be in deep, deep love with this book.

And, look at all the reasons why:

1] The Language
From the very first paragraph I could tell that this book was a wonderful labor of love

“Some years ago there was in the city of York a society of magicians. They met upon the third Wednesday of every month and read each other long, dull papers upon the history of English magic.”

“He understood for the first time that the world is not dumb at all, but merely waiting for some...more

6 likes · like · see review

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Who would you cast in a BBC series based on this novel?	76	337	May 19, 2013 09:42am
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The Filipino Group: Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke (Tina, Monique, Lynai, Alexa, Louize, Maria, Mae, Celina, Ycel; Eavesdroppers: Tricia, Aaron, Beejay, JL, Tin) \| Start Date: April 1	168	103	May 06, 2013 11:55pm
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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

The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories

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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“Can a magician kill a man by magic?” Lord Wellington asked Strange. Strange frowned. He seemed to dislike the question. “I suppose a magician might,” he admitted, “but a gentleman never would.” — 239 people liked it

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