Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

I was given a copy of Susanna Clarke’s debut work 3-4 months ago, but regrettably put it on my shelf and forgot about it. Recently I decided to take a break from my usual fare and ventured to read a work of fiction.

Thus I picked up Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell: A Novel. The book starts slow but is intriguing, holding promise of more interesting material ahead. Clearly, the author does not want to show her cards all at once. The story begins with a meeting of the Learned Society of York Magicians, discussing the decline of English magic. All of the magicians now in England are theoretical magicians and practical magic has not been seen in England for many years. In the first chapter, one of the principal characters, Gilbert Norrell, is introduced. Mr Norrell is England’s only practical magician. The first section of the book chronicles Mr Norrell’s experience in London as he attempts to restore English magic.

Eventually, a third of the way into the book, the 2nd major character is introduced: Jonathan Strange. The book details their work for the government, a strange prophecy concerning them and the restoration of English magic. Along the way, a woman is brought back to life, connexions between England and Færie are re-established, and the magicians quarrel.

The author has a very interesting writing style. She has elaborate descriptions of characters and settings similar to Charles Dickens. Her wit resembles Jane Austen, wherein she combines keen social observations with a dry sense of humour. To give the story an antiquated feel, she employed archaic spellings of some words, for example, ‘chuse’ and ’sopha’.

The work is quite long, around 1000 pages, but reads very quickly once you get into it. The version I was given was divided into three paperback volumes to facilitate reading. I finished the book in about a week reading at a moderate pace. I enjoyed the work quite a bit and highly recommend it if you enjoy fantasy. As a side note, Susanna Clarke spent a decade writing Jonathan Strange & Mr Norell. The rumour is she is working on a sequel which will involve secondary characters from this book; I hope it will be written in less time as I will be sure to pick it up.