Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell

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When Susanna Clarke set out to write her sensational first novel, she determined to write a book about magic that would keep readers from their coveted sleep. She has certainly succeeded. A hefty doorstop of a book, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell has already drawn comparisons to works by Dickens, Austen, and the Harry Potter books. Set in early-19th-century England, Clarke's novel introduces readers to a group of magicians from whom the "magic" has departed. Enter Mr. Norrell, a misanthropic, book-hoarding magician who takes up a challenge to prove that magic still exists.

After Mr. Norrell succeeds at his ambitious endeavor, he takes on a pupil, the charismatic Jonathan Strange, and together they begin to restore the sorry state of English magic. But a rift opens between these two allies, leading them to turn their magic on each other, and a darker, more sinister magic begins to reveal itself.

Clarke's ambitious epic is packed with twists and turns, as she leads readers through mysterious doorways, down magical pathways, and into other worlds. Filled with quirky characters and eerie places, it's frightening, moving, and very often witty. In her stunningly original and accomplished first novel, Susanna Clarke has created a completely convincing "historical" account magic's role in changing the course of history -- a work chock-full of the most fun a "smart" book has ever contained. (Holiday 2004 Selection)

Salon

"The most sparkling literary debut of the year."

San Francisco Chronicle

"Witty dialogue, cunning observations, and intriguing footnotes....create worlds of deep imagination that seem as real as our own."

Seattle Times

"Combines the wit of Jane Austen with the subterranean spookiness of the works of Arthur Conan Doyle."

The New York Times

"Clarke's imagination is prodigious, her pacing is masterly and she knows how to employ dry humor in the service of majesty."

The Onion

"Gorgeous. A terrific, phenomenally ambitious book."

Toronto Globe and Mail

"Wonderful....built one splendid scene upon the next."

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"Extraordinary."

Baltimore Sun

"An enthralling, unique read."

Booklist

"A smashing success. History and fantasy form a beautiful partnership in this detailed, authentic, and heartfelt novel."

Denver Post

"Utterly enchanting. [Clarke's] union of historical fiction and fantasy is fresh, it is surprising....a superb storyteller."

Entertainment Weekly

"Immense, intelligent, inventive. Clarke is a restrained and witty writer with an arch and eminently readable style."

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

"Clarke has delivered a book of universal truths and unexpectedly heartbreaking acuity."

Harper's Bazaar

"Mesmerizing."

National Post (Canada)

"Inarguably one of the year's best and most original works."

New York Post

"This incredible work of the imagination, which took Clarke more than 10 years to write, ends all too soon."

People

"Clarke's sober style keeps the fantasy grounded, and meticulous historical research brings the magical episodes to terrifying life."

Edward Nawotka

It takes 100 pages for Clarke to establish her milieu, but most readers, once enchanted, will remain under her spell until the very last page.
— USA Today

Gregory Maguire

A reader more distractible than I am might yawn for 300 pages running and still discover several book-length stretches to enjoy. I never yawned. Clarke's imagination is prodigious, her pacing is masterly and she knows how to employ dry humor in the service of majesty.
— The New York Times

Michael Dirda

So Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell may or may not be the finest English fantasy of the past 70 years. But it is still magnificent and original, and that should be enough for any of us. Right now all we really need to do is open to chapter one and start reading, with mounting excitement: "Some years ago there was in the city of York a society of magicians. . . ."
— The Washington Post

The New Yorker

This vast début fantasy novel, cast somewhat in the Harry Potter mold, is set in early-nineteenth-century England, where two men, Gilbert Norrell and his pupil Jonathan Strange, revive the once-thriving practice of the dark arts. After aiding the British against Napoleon, the magicians fall out over interpretations of wizardly philosophy. Meanwhile, a malevolent fairy accidentally set loose by Norrell enchants, among others, Strange’s wife. Clarke’s ability to construct a fully imagined world—much of it explained in long, witty footnotes—is impressive, and there are some suspenseful moments. But her attempt to graft a fantasy narrative onto such historical realities as the Battle of Waterloo is more often awkward than clever, and the period dialogue is simply twee. Worse, the tension between the forces of good and evil—crucial in any magical tale—is surprisingly slack; the arch-villain is a cartoonish fop whose petulant misdeeds lack menace.

Publishers Weekly

There may be no better marriage of talents than that of Clarke and Prebble. The former spins an enchanting, epic tale of English magic in the age of Napoleon, and the latter brings it to life-footnotes and all-with a full-bodied voice, skill and aplomb that rivals that of noted narrator Jim Dale. Set in a world where the study of theoretical magic is common, but the practice of it is unheard of, this sweeping narrative follows the exploits of England's only two practical magicians, the bookish Mr. Norrell and the affable Jonathan Strange, as they struggle to revive the country's magic in very different ways. Mr. Norrell is content to publish opaque, opinionated pieces on magic's uses and misuses, but Strange is fascinated by the legend and lore of the Raven King, the so-called father of English magic. The voices Prebble lends these two disparate characters nicely reflects their personalities-Norrell's voice is brittle and sometimes shrill, but Strange's is pleasant and ironic. As the two magicians labor together to defeat Napoleon and then separately to pursue their own ends, an elusive faerie known only as the "gentleman with the Thistledown hair" watches and schemes. Clarke's novel likely contains close to 100, if not more, characters, and Prebble juggles them all with ease. Although the heavy price of this audiobook may deter some listeners, there's no better way to experience the material than to hear it performed by such a consummate actor. Based on the Bloomsbury hardcover (Forecasts, July 12, 2004). (Nov.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

People

"Combining folklore and fantasy with horror-story imagination, [Clarke] creates a Napoleonic-era England alive with the promise—and danger—of uncontrollable forces…Clarke's sober style keeps the fantasy grounded, and meticulous historical research brings the magical episodes to terrifying life. This is a gorgeous book of unforgettable images.

Charles Palliser

"Absolutely compelling. An astonishing achievement.

Neil Gaiman

"Unquestionably the finest English novel of the fantastic written in the last seventy years. It's funny, moving, scary, otherworldly, practical and magical, a journey through light and shadow—from beginning to end, a perfect pleasure.

Time

"Ravishing…superb…combines the dark mythology of fantasy with the delicious social comedy of Jane Austen into a masterpiece of the genre that rivals Tolkien.

New York Times Book Review

"Clarke welcomes herself into an exalted company of British writers—not only, some might argue, Dickens and Austen, but also the fantasy legends Kenneth Grahame and George MacDonald—as well as contemporary writers like Susan Cooper and Philip Pullman.

USA Today

"What kind of magic can make an 800-page novel seem too short? Whatever it is, debut author Susanna Clarke is possessed by it, and her astonished readers will surely hope she never recovers.

Salon.com

"The most sparkling literary debut of the year…Susanna Clarke's magic is universal.

Christian Science Monitor

"Thoroughly enchanting…In a fantastically paced conclusion, the ominous horror of what's preying on England comes into focus, even as the setting shifts into the cloudy world of enchantment that Clarke captures with such haunting effect.

Washington Post

"Many books are to be read, some are to be studied, and a few are meant to be lived in for weeks. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is of this last kind...Magnificent and original.

Village Voice

"Susanna Clarke's great fat tale of the rebirth of magic in 19th-century England has a rambling ground plan, a decorous diction, and a politely crazed investment in ornate cornices. Here is a writer who remembers that true fairy tales carry a sting and the creatures themselves were never properly domesticated to the nursery. Her uncanny book is an object lesson in the pleasures—and risks—of enchantment.