Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This land is all too shallow
It is painted on the sky
And trembles like the wind-shook rain
When the Raven King goes by.
I love the prophecy in this book so much that it used to be my userinfo text for ages; I've got those poetic words practically branded into my memory. Serendipity is that I first started this on March 23, 2005, so my reread began almost exactly 11 years later. I remember I randomly went to a publicity event in Norway, met Susanna Clarke, bought a copy, and got it personalised.
This book definitely hit the spot post-Sorcery & Cecelia, and is just so much better (sorry, S&C!) -- Susanna Clarke's voice is tremendous, just the right edge of wry and clever and period-appropriate. I remember a decade ago, it made me want to start spelling things like shew and chuse and surprize. Even revisiting this tome, I can't believe how quickly these 1000 pages go; I did a lot of status updates from this book because I could have rolled around in the prose and world and characters forever. The plot is sedate, not exactly following a standard/formulaic structure -- which possibly makes it meandering and slow for some people, but I was more than happy to wallow in it, just pleased to follow the characters and see what they did next. It's also deeply anchored in place and time, perfectly evoking its settings and the era, historical personages and all.
Clarke's voice completely sells it: if you don't grin to yourself a little a few pages in, then this may not be your cuppa. But if you like Jane Austen-esque comedies of manners; magic and magical academia; the Gothic and Romantic; wry narrators and tongue-in-cheek authorial voice; in-universe footnotes and meta humour; then this book may be your everything.
One of my own particular enjoyments is that the eponymous Jonathan Strange doesn't even show up until a quarter through the book. Until then, you're stuck with Gilbert Norrell (who is not a particularly fun or likeable person, and I say that with all the affection of someone who loves this fussy, obsessive, self-absorbed wet blanket)... but you can see traces of Strange in the footnotes, already bursting with charisma, his presence haunting the narrative until he finally arrives. His role kicks the narrative to the next level and infuses it with more action and romance and humour than before; this odd-couple melding of completely opposite personalities is a delight to behold.
And oh, the footnotes. I saw people who were bugged by them and how long some of them were, but honestly, having survived House of Leaves, I am all about rambling digressive annotations. Susanna Clarke's fantastical England feels all the more real and fleshed-out because of the histories, anecdotes, quotes, and scholarship buried in the footnotes; it's a much preferable way for worldbuilding than characters explaining the backstory to each other, imo.
The relationship between the two men is also so complicated and feelsy and I could practically write essays about it. Not in a romantic sense, but an obsessive one: built of people who complete each other intellectually despite being so different. Jonathan Strange's heart may belong to his wife, but his mind belongs to Norrell.
I ALSO HAVE SUCH A FICTIONAL CRUSH ON STRANGE, srynotsry, and his relationship with Arabella makes my heart sing and makes me so emotional. Stephen Black is great, and Childermass is truly one of my favourite characters (I just want more of him please??). The fairies in this book are vicious and dangerous, as they should be.
Basically, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is utterly fantastic... if you like the elements it's composed of. Because if you do, then you'll devour this weighty brick and even want more. (Relatedly, I hear Clarke's s been working on a sequel starring
Spoiler
Childermass and VinculusAs for me, I HIGHLIGHTED 50 PASSAGES WHILE READING. Seriously, I just love her voice! so much!
Spoiler
[AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION, FROM THE SET OF THE TV SERIES] But nothing, I find, has prepared me for the sight of my own characters walking about. A playwright or screenwriter must expect it; a novelist doesn’t and naturally concludes that she has gone mad. (What do they need so many umbrellas for? Don’t they realise that they are imaginary?)***
He hardly ever spoke of magic, and when he did it was like a history lesson and no one could bear to listen to him.
***
Mr Robinson was a polished sort of person. 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.
***
“Oh! I have no patience with this old man!”
Mr Segundus had not told Mrs Pleasance that Mr Norrell was old and yet she fancied that he must be. From what Mr Segundus had told her she thought of him as a sort of miser who hoarded magic instead of gold, and as our narrative progresses, I will allow the reader to judge the justice of this portrait of Mr Norrell’s character. Like Mrs Pleasance I always fancy that misers are old. I cannot tell why this should be since I am sure that there are as many young misers as old. As to whether or not Mr Norrell was in fact old, he was the sort of man who had been old at seventeen.
***
“You must get me a house, Childermass,” he said. “Get me a house that says to those that visit it that magic is a respectable profession – no less than Law and a great deal more so than Medicine.”
Childermass inquired drily if Mr Norrell wished him to seek out architecture expressive of the proposition that magic was as respectable as the Church?
Mr Norrell (who knew there were such things as jokes in the world or people would not write about them in books, but who had never actually been introduced to a joke or shaken its hand) considered a while before replying at last that no, he did not think they could quite claim that.
***
“I said that you were quite wrong, Mama.”
“Am I, my love?” Mrs Wintertowne, whose character was so forceful and whose opinions were handed down to people in the manner of Moses distributing the commandments, did not appear in the least offended when her daughter contradicted her. Indeed she seemed almost pleased about it.
***
"Upon my word, there is nothing in the world so easy to explain as failure – it is, after all, what every body does all the time.”
***
“That was the clock striking half-past one o’clock!” said Drawlight suddenly. “How lonely it sounds! Ugh! All the horrid things one reads of in novels always happen just as the church bell tolls or the clock strikes some hour or other in a dark house!”
“I cannot recall an instance of any thing very dreadful happening at half-past one,” said Lascelles.
***
Mr Lascelles whispered to Mr Drawlight that he had not realized before that doing kind actions would lead to his being addressed in such familiar terms by so many low people – it was most unpleasant – he would take care to do no more.
***
It has been remarked (by a lady infinitely cleverer than the present author) how kindly disposed the world in general feels to young people who either die or marry. Imagine then the interest that surrounded Miss Wintertowne! No young lady ever had such advantages before: for she died upon the Tuesday, was raised to life in the early hours of Wednesday morning, and was married upon the Thursday; which some people thought too much excitement for one week.
***
But when Mr Norrell understood better who it was that they proposed as a candidate, he looked a great deal relieved and was heard to say something about the condition of the body.
Then the Ministers thought how Mr Pitt had been dead for almost two years, and that, devoted as they had been to Pitt in his life, they really had very little desire to see him in his present condition. Lord Chatham (Mr Pitt’s brother) remarked sadly that poor William would certainly have come a good deal unravelled by now. The subject was not mentioned again.
***
After two hours it stopped raining and in the same moment the spell broke, which Perroquet and the Admiral and Captain Jumeau knew by a curious twist of their senses, as if they had tasted a string quartet, or been, for a moment, deafened by the sight of the colour blue.
***
There is not much to interest the serious student of magic in the early issues and the only entertainment to be got from them is contained in several articles in which Portishead attacks on Mr Norrell’s behalf: gentleman-magicians; lady-magicians; street-magicians; vagabond-magicians; child-prodigy-magicians; the Learned Society of York Magicians; the Learned Society of Manchester Magicians; learned societies of magicians in general; any other magicians whatsoever.
***
If English law had entitled Laurence Strange to sell his son and buy a better one, he probably would have done it.
***
“Oh, there you are!” he said, glancing sourly at Stephen. “A person may call and call in this house, but no one comes!”
“I am very sorry, sir,” said Stephen, “but no one told me you were here.” He supposed the gentleman must be a guest of Sir Walter’s or Lady Pole’s – which explained the gentleman, but not the room. Gentlemen are often invited to stay in other people’s houses. Rooms hardly ever are.
***
Stephen made some admiring remark about the colour which was not exactly pale blue and not exactly grey, not precisely lavender and not precisely lilac.
“Yes, indeed! It is beautiful,” agreed the gentleman enthusiastically. “And very hard to make. The pigment must be mixed with the tears of spinsters of good family, who must live long lives of impeccable virtue and die without ever having had a day of true happiness!”
“Poor ladies!” said Stephen. “I am glad it is so rare.”
“Oh! It is not the tears that make it rare – I have bottles full of those – it is the skill to mix the
colour.”
***
It must be said, however, that Sir William Pole’s patronage was a somewhat mixed blessing. Though liberal in his praise and always courteous and condescending to the shop-people, he was scarcely ever known to pay a bill and when he died, the amount of money owing to Brandy’s was considerable. Mr Brandy, a short-tempered, pinched-faced, cross little old man, was beside himself with rage about it. He died shortly afterwards, and was presumed by many people to have done so on purpose and to have gone in pursuit of his noble debtor.
***
In person he was rather tall and his figure was considered good. Some people thought him handsome, but this was not by any means the universal opinion. His face had two faults: a long nose and an ironic expression. It is also true that his hair had a reddish tinge and, as everybody knows, no one with red hair can ever truly be said to be handsome.
***
“They are very dirty,” said Arabella.
“Oh! We magicians do not regard a little dirt. Besides I dare say they are very old. Ancient, mysterious spells such as these are often …”
“The date is written at the top of them. 2nd February 1808. That is two weeks ago.”
“Indeed? I had not observed.”
***
“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 could.”
***
“I thought you meant to ask Mr Norrell to help you,” said Arabella.
“How could I when we seemed to be quarrelling from the first moment we met?” cried Strange. “He does not like me. Nor I him.”
“Not like you! No, perhaps he did not like you. But he did not so much as look at any other person the whole time we were there. It was as if he would eat you up with his eyes. I dare say he is lonely. He has studied all these years and never had any body he could explain his mind to. Certainly not to those disagreeable men – I forget their names. But now that he has seen you – and he knows that he could talk to you – well! it would be very odd if he did not invite you again.”
***
Mr Norrell gazed at Strange with an odd expression upon his face as though he would have been glad of a little conversation with him, but had not the least idea how to begin.
***
"I have his book here.” Mr Norrell stood up and fetched it from the shelves. But he did not give it to Strange straightaway.
After a short silence Strange said, “You advise me to read this book?”
“Yes, indeed. I think you should read it,” said Mr Norrell.
Strange waited, but Norrell continued to gaze at the book in his hand as though he were entirely at a loss as to how to proceed.
“Then you must give it to me, sir,” said Strange gently.
“Yes, indeed,” said Mr Norrell. He approached Strange cautiously and held the book out for several moments, before suddenly tipping it up and off into Strange’s hand with an odd gesture, as though it was not a book at all, but a small bird which clung to him and would on no account go to any one else, so that he was obliged to trick it into leaving his hand. He was so intent upon this manoeuvre that fortunately he did not look up at Strange who was trying not to laugh.
Mr Norrell remained a moment, looking wistfully at his book in another magician’s hand.
***
It was not a list to delight Mr Norrell’s soul. It was full of first thoughts crossed-out, second thoughts crossed-out and third thoughts put in at angles and made to wriggle around other words that were in the way. There were ink blots, titles misspellt, authors misnamed and, most confusing of all, three lines of a riddle-poem that Strange had begun composing as a farewell-present for Arabella.
***
Lord Wellington gave Strange a sharp look. “What I chiefly need is men. Can you make more?
“Men? Well, that depends on what your lordship means. It is an interesting question …” To Strange’s great discomfort, he found he sounded exactly like Mr Norrell.
***
Then one by one the corpses revived and began to speak in a guttural language which contained a much higher proportion of screams than any language known to the onlookers.
Even Wellington looked a little pale. Only Strange continued apparently without emotion.
“Dear God!” cried Fitzroy Somerset, “What language is that?”
“I believe it is one of the dialects of Hell,” said Strange.
“Is it indeed?” said Somerset. “Well, that is remarkable.”
“They have learnt it very quickly,” said Lord Wellington, “They have only been dead three days.” He approved of people doing things promptly and in a businesslike fashion.
***
Place the moon at his eyes and her whiteness shall devour the false sights the deceiver has placed there. Place a swarm of bees at his ears. Bees love truth and will destroy the deceiver’s lies. Place salt in his mouth lest the deceiver attempt to delight him with the taste of honey or disgust him with the taste of ashes. Nail his hand with an iron nail so that he shall not raise it to do the deceiver’s bidding. Place his heart in a secret place so that all his desires shall be his own and the deceiver shall find no hold there. Memorandum. The colour red may be found beneficial.
***
Unfortunately, Strange happened at that moment to be leaning across the table, balanced upon one foot to take aim at a billiard ball. So surprized was he at what he heard that he missed the shot entirely, struck his cue against the side of the table and promptly fell over.
***
"Do not think that I am ungrateful, sir, but I believe the period of our collaboration is over. It seems to me that we are too different …”
“Oh!” cried Mr Norrell. “I know that in character …” He made a gesture of dismissal. “But what does that matter? We are magicians. That is the beginning and end of me and the beginning and the end of you. It is all that either of us cares about. If you leave this house today and pursue your own course, who will you talk to? – as we are talking now? —there is no one. You will be quite alone.” In a tone almost of pleading, he whispered, “Do not do this!”
***
Mr Norrell was still in the library, still in the chair he had been sitting in when Strange had left. He was staring fixedly at the carpet.
“Is he gone?” asked Lascelles.
Mr Norrell did not answer.
Lascelles sat down. “Our conditions? How did he receive them?”
Still no reply.
“Mr Norrell? You told him what we agreed? You told him that unless he publishes a retraction we shall be forced to reveal what we know of the Black Magic done in Spain? You told him that under no circumstances would you accept him any longer as a pupil?”
“No,” said Mr Norrell. “I said none of those things.”
***
“Oh! But you do not consider what a blessing it is,” said Arabella. “One of the best blessings of existence.”
“What is?”
“Your husband’s love.”
Lady Pole looked surprized. “Yes, he does love me,” she said at last. “Or at least he tells me that he does. But what good is that to me? It has never warmed me when I was cold – and I always am cold, you know. It has never shortened a long, dreary ball by so much as a minute or stopped a procession through long, dark, ghostly corridors. It has never saved me from any misery at all. Has the love of your husband ever saved you from any thing?”
“Mr Strange?” smiled Arabella. “No, never. I am more in the habit of saving him!"
***
He screamed again. The bog made a series of most unpleasant sucking noises.
“Ah, God! I take the liberty of observing, sir, that I am sinking by degrees. Ah!” He began to slip sideways. “You have often been so kind as to express an affection for me, sir, and to say how much you prefer my society to that of any other person. If it would not inconvenience you in any way, perhaps I might prevail upon you to rescue me from this horrible bog?”
***
When he awoke it was dawn. Or something like dawn. The light was watery, dim and incomparably sad. Vast, grey, gloomy hills rose up all around them and in between the hills there was a wide expanse of black bog. Stephen had never seen a landscape so calculated to reduce the onlooker to utter despair in an instant.
“This is one of your kingdoms, I suppose, sir?” he said.
“My kingdoms?” exclaimed the gentleman in surprize. “Oh, no! This is Scotland!”
***
Strange smiled. Or rather he twisted something in his face and Sir Walter supposed that he was smiling. Sir Walter could not really recall what his smile had looked like before.
***
Jonathan Strange to John Segundus
I am, as far as I can tell, about a month behind Lord Byron. In every town we stop at we discover innkeepers, postillions, officials, burghers, potboys and all kinds and sorts of ladies whose brains still seem somewhat deranged from their brief exposure to his lordship.
***
"It is only that Lord Byron could never have any power over me or sway the least of my thoughts or actions. I am quite safe from him. But that is not to say that there might not be someone in the world – I do not say that I have seen him yet – whom I would be a little afraid to look at sometimes – for fear that he might be looking sad – or lost – or thoughtful, or – what, you know, might seem worst of all – brooding on some private anger or hurt and so not knowing or caring if I looked at him at all.”
***
"You will never guess what idiocy he is engaged in now! Casting spells to summon fairies! Ha! Ha! He tells himself he is doing it to get himself a fairy-servant and further the cause of English magic. But really he is only doing it to terrify Gilbert Norrell! He has come hundreds of miles to the most luxurious city in the world and all he cares about is what some old man in London thinks! How ridiculous!”
Cont'd in comments...
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I really wanted to like this because it’s been so highly recommended. And I feel bad giving it a lower rating because it’s EXTREMELY well written - it does exactly what it’s trying to do. Unfortunately, I just really struggled with the pacing and didn’t enjoy the style.
As a side note, I read Piranesi at the same time and absolutely LOVED it- I’m impressed with Clarke’s range. I just wished I enjoyed this one more.
As a side note, I read Piranesi at the same time and absolutely LOVED it- I’m impressed with Clarke’s range. I just wished I enjoyed this one more.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A little slow to get going, but a beautifully woven fantasy set in a time-period that I've never really read about. I really liked the stylistic choice with the footnotes, giving it a more academic feel, even when the additions were more humorous asides. Norrell and Strange play off each other so well, bringing out the best and the worst in each other. I look forward to reading the other shorter works set in this universe at some point, and whatever else Suzanne Clarke decided to write next!
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really enjoyed this book. The reviews in the blurb compare Clarke to JRR Tolkien and I can totally see that comparison with how alive the setting feels and the background to the fantasy (although it is grounded in historical events). Really enjoyed the build up to the climax towards the end. It's a big read, but the groundwork that is laid for all of the characters and the events that unfold feel very much worth it. Found myself pushing to keep going at some point which is why the rating isnt a tad higher, but overall I loved it and may attribute some of that lack of energy to myself rather than the novel.
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated