Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell in Building a SciFi/Fantasy Library

Sep 30, 2007 John rated it it was amazing

f I asked you to name a modern fantasy novel by a British woman that clocks in at 800+ pages and has as its subject magic in England, you'd probably give me a title that begins with Harry Potter and... and I could hardly blame you, though these are also characteristics of Susanna Clarke's debut novel, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell.

That's where the similarity ends, however, except for both being novels I didn't particularly want to put down. The style is reminiscent of Jane Austen and other writ f I asked you to name a modern fantasy novel by a British woman that clocks in at 800+ pages and has as its subject magic in England, you'd probably give me a title that begins with Harry Potter and... and I could hardly blame you, though these are also characteristics of Susanna Clarke's debut novel, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell.

That's where the similarity ends, however, except for both being novels I didn't particularly want to put down. The style is reminiscent of Jane Austen and other writers of that era (sort of). It's actually been cleaned up (or watered down) to give hints and flavors of that style (the footnotes that add depth to the tale with sometimes-lengthy asides, the general tone). The setting is England in the early 1800s (sort of). This is not just England of the 19th century plus magic. In this England, magic is infused throughout England's history from at least a few centuries before the Renaissance, when the legendary Raven King established a kingdom in the north of England and ruled for centuries. He's long gone, and now [i.e. in 1806 when the novel begins] magic has been lost and no one does magic any more. People who are called magicians are either charlatans or scholars who study the history of magic rather than its practice.

That is, until Mr. Norrell hits the scene. He's a bookish man who's been study magic for many years and has determined to bring the practice of magic back to England. However, he's determined to do so on his own terms. He has bought up all of the books of magic spells in England and gets the government to help him regulate who can and who cannot be a magician.

We don't actually meet Jonathan Strange until we're a couple hundred pages in. He is a dilettante, a gentleman who's never settled on anything. He discovers is sold a spell which, it turns out, works for him, and he determines to become a magician. Of course, he can't find any books to learn from because Mr. Norrell has bought them all. So, he must go to Mr. Norrell to learn magic. Surprisingly, Norrell annd Strange take a liking to one another and together begin the restoration of magic to England, performing amazing feats with their mystical abilities. Norrell, despite his great affection for Strange, cannot bring himself to share all that of his books or all that he knows because Norrell believes that he knows what magic should be revived and what shouldn't, as well as what magic is safe and what is not.

Strange, though, has the advantage of an aptitude for magic which allows him to create new spells and he is also afforded some freedom to develop his talents when he goes to Spain to help Wellington in the fight against Napoleon. Eventually, Strange and Norrell have a falling out, but I will say no more about the plot, lest I leave you nothing to read.

The novel may seem as though it develops slowly. Well, it does. However, don't make the mistake of thinking that the early portions are mere filler. In fact, Clarke is carefully building up both her fantastic England in is richness and complexity and laying the foundation for plot elements which will be wound up by the end of the novel. She shows us many interesting characters, hints of the rich world they inhabit, and engaging plot, and intelligent, witty writing. She mimics something of the 18th and early 19th Century's humor and wit to very nice effect.

Besides being named Book of the Year by Time Magazine and Book Sense, it won this year's Hugo award given out at the World Science Fiction Convention, something of a rarity for a fantasy novel. ...more

7 likes · Like · see review

Oct 01, 2007 Jamie Collins rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: regency-napoleonic, fantasy, time-travel-alt-history

I liked this book very much. I've settled on four stars because it's simply too long. Normally I love a huge book but this one would have been better at 2/3 the length; that would have left me wanting more instead of being relieved that it was over.

This kind of whimsical, fantastical story is not what I usually enjoy, but the writing itself is charming. In the first volume especially I was enchanted with every page.

I enjoyed the bits with Wellington particularly, since I'm a fan of Bernard Cornw ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Sep 24, 2007 Margot rated it really liked it

Shelves: adultfantasy

I adored this book.

In spite of wishing the main characters were more likeable, I loved it. By the end, it felt like I was the one under an enchantment. An amazing first novel.

The use of old-fashioned Brit spellings added to the flavor.

1 like · Like · see review

Oct 15, 2007 Amy rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, historical-fiction, world-fantasy-award, locus-award, hugo-award

This is a very prim and proper fantasy, written as if it came out of another century. Not only is it incredibly lengthy, but there are copious (oh, copious) footnotes, usually referring to imaginary works or imaginary events. I would have to say that this never completely grabbed ahold of me and stunned me with its brilliance. But, on the other hand, not only is there an incredible amount of work invested in it, it does achieve at times a wonderfully dark and fantastic atmosphere that is very di ...more

Like · see review

Oct 02, 2014 Annie rated it really liked it

Shelves: sf-f

This took me a while to get into, but was well worth the read. I loved the footnotes, and Clarke's descriptive language paints fantastic images in my imagination. Her other book, is now on my to-read list. ...more

Like · see review