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Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna…
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Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

by Susanna Clarke

Other authors: See the other authors section.

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingConversations / Mentions
17,84049788 (3.96)1 / 674
19th century (240) 21st century (86) alternate history (469) British (207) England (565) English (97) faerie (181) fairies (173) fantasy (3,270) fiction (2,491) hardcover (97) historical (268) historical fantasy (152) historical fiction (517) history (70) Hugo Award (70) literature (87) London (109) magic (1,211) magicians (319) Napoleonic Wars (156) novel (359) own (114) read (256) science fiction (102) sff (139) to-read (278) unread (261) Victorian (87) wizards (88)
  1. 270
    The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories by Susanna Clarke (billiecat, celtic)
  2. 250
    Stardust by Neil Gaiman (GreenVelvet, GreenVelvet, GreenVelvet)
    GreenVelvet: Both Stardust and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell are detailed, well-written and riveting explorations of the world of fairie.
  3. 171
    The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly (derelicious, jonathankws)
  4. 140
    Little, Big by John Crowley (VisibleGhost)
  5. 154
    Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake (saltmanz)
    saltmanz: Both extrememly atmospheric books, with vivid visuals and memorable characters.
  6. 165
    The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud (clif_hiker)
  7. 110
    Lud-In-The-Mist by Hope Mirrlees (TheSpecialistsCat)
    TheSpecialistsCat: Both Clarke and Mirrlees lived briefly in Spain, then returned home to write about fairies and also, ostensibly, what it means to be English.
  8. 132
    The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (majkia)
    majkia: both books evoked the same sort of feeling for me.
  9. 154
    The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper (Obdormio)
    Obdormio: I don't remember making this recommendation, much less why I did; they are very different books. I think I felt that they both conjured up the same mystic mood, and they are both concerned with a very British magic.
  10. 132
    The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany (billiecat)
    billiecat: Clarke's descriptions of Faerie share the dreamlike qualities of Dunsany's novel.
  11. 100
    The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (-Eva-)
  12. 133
    His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik (Rodo)
  13. 91
    Sorcery and Cecelia, or, The Enchanted Chocolate Pot: being the correspondence of two Young Ladies of Quality regarding various Magical Scandals in London and the Country by Patricia C. Wrede (fyrefly98)
    fyrefly98: Both have the same "Jane-Austen-meets-Harry-Potter" vibe to them; "Jonathan Strange" is denser and more grown-up, while "Sorcery & Cecelia" is funnier and more of a romp.
  14. 91
    The Man Who Was Thursday by G. K. Chesterton (flissp)
  15. 93
    To Say Nothing of the Dog; or, How We Found the Bishop's Bird Stump at Last by Connie Willis (hiredman)
  16. 50
    Bitter Seeds by Ian Tregillis (Aerrin99)
    Aerrin99: Books which focus on a fascinating historical Britain, but with added fun like magicians and more.
  17. 94
    The Prestige by Christopher Priest (Patangel)
  18. 84
    The Golem's Eye by Jonathan Stroud (clif_hiker)
  19. 84
    Ptolemy's Gate by Jonathan Stroud (clif_hiker)
  20. 40
    The Meaning of Night by Michael Cox (Anonymous user)

(see all 42 recommendations)

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English (479)  French (5)  Polish (3)  Italian (3)  Japanese (2)  Swedish (1)  Finnish (1)  German (1)  Spanish (1)  All languages (496)
Showing 1-5 of 479 (next | show all)
Surprisingly good considering the hoopla surrounding it. ( )
  ehines | May 11, 2013 |
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I do admit however that after the first couple of chapters I stopped reading most of the footnotes. In most cases they were only supplementary information that was not necessary to understand or enjoy the main body of the story, and it got frustrating to constantly skip to the bottom of the page and then try to find my spot again. So, yes, I think they were a bit overdone and kind of unnecessary, but they didn't ruin the book by any means.
My only other complaint is that I found the ending somewhat abrupt, given the length of the book as a whole.
Still, this was a page-turner for me, and I had difficulty putting it down. It is exactly the sort of epic fantasy that I enjoy. ( )
  perkybookworm | May 8, 2013 |
This book is authentic for the period it proposes to imitate in at least one way: it reads like Clarke was paid by the word.

There was a lot to like in the book. Some of her turns of phrase are wonderful. I liked Arabella, Stephen, and Lady Pole. Mostly I liked Jonathan Strange. Childermass too. It was enjoyable enough, and I'm glad I read it to the end.

But the pacing. AUGH, the pacing. It was TERRIBLE. I read the book in the three-volume edition. Nothing happened in the second book until the last thirty pages. Not a single thing worth noting. This book could easily have been condensed into 500-550 pages without losing anything of any worth. Length isn't generally an issue for me (heh) - in fact, I do love a good long book, because I always tend to want MORE - but this was stretched. And the irritating thing is, plenty of different routes could have been taken to fill up that space. As someone else mentioned, I wanted to know more about Norrell. Without knowing more, he's just a malicious git. Strange could have used some more filling out too - why do we only meet him 270 odd pages into it?

The end felt... convoluted. I don't want to say too much, but it seemed rushed, and with the middle of the book dragging so much, it made no sense to suddenly go BAM! ENDING!

Overall, if you have some spare time and get a chance to read this, I would. It's a decent faux-Victorian study of a relationship between two vastly different men, with some commendable pieces of writing, and some intriguing moments, but ultimately, I wouldn't strongly recommend it.
( )
  heterocephalusglaber | Apr 26, 2013 |
You can read my review of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell on my blog (contains some spoilers): http://www.rulethewaves.net/blog/?p=1931 ( )
  caffeinatedlife | Apr 26, 2013 |
I should read this.
  katemcangus | Apr 26, 2013 |
Showing 1-5 of 479 (next | show all)
"Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell" has been celebrated as an adult Harry Potter story, but it is more like a flatter and flabbier one. Chapters end with no cliff-hanging urgency, and the book is studded with unremarkable remarks. ...

Somehow, the gargantuan battle for the future of English magic does not become a matter of enormous consequence. But it does become the basis for a brand new fantasy world, an intricate and fully imagined universe of bewitching tricks. Maybe that's enough.
added by Aerrin99 | editNew York Times, Janet Maslin (Sep 14, 2004)
 
Her deftly assumed faux-19th century point of view will beguile cynical adult readers into losing themselves in this entertaining and sophisticated fantasy.
 
Many charmed readers will feel, as I do, that Susanna Clarke has wasted neither her energies nor our many reading hours.
 
Susanna Clarke, who resides in Cambridge, England, has spent the past decade writing the 700-plus pages of this remarkable book. She's a great admirer of Charles Dickens and has produced a work every bit as enjoyable as The Pickwick Papers, with more than a touch of the early Anne Rice thrown in for good measure.
 
"Move over, little Harry. It’s time for some real magic."
 

» Add other authors (20 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Susanna Clarkeprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Bützow, HeleneTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Prebble, SimonNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Rosenberg, PortiaIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Epigraph
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.
Dedication
In memory of my brother, Paul Frederick Gunn Clarke, 1961-2000
First words
Some years ago there was in the city of York a society of magicians.
Quotations
At sixteen she spoke -- not only French, Italian & German -- which are part of any lady's commonplace accomplishments -- but all the languages of the civilized (and uncivilized) world. She spoke the language of the Scottish Highlands (which is like singing). She spoke Basque, which is a language which rarely makes any impression upon the brains of any other race, so that a man may hear it as often and as long as he likes, but never afterwards be able to recall a single syllable of it. She even learnt the language of a strange country which, Signor Tosetti had been told, some people believed still existed, although no one in the world could say where it was. (The name of the country was Wales.)
It is also true that that his hair had a reddish tinge and, as everybody knows, no one with red hair can ever truly be said to be handsome.
"Soldiers, I am sorry to say, steal everything." He thought for a moment and then added, "Or at least ours do."
"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."
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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Amazon.com Amazon.com Review (ISBN 0765356155, Mass Market Paperback)

It's 1808 and that Corsican upstart Napoleon is battering the English army and navy. Enter Mr. Norrell, a fusty but ambitious scholar from the Yorkshire countryside and the first practical magician in hundreds of years. What better way to demonstrate his revival of British magic than to change the course of the Napoleonic wars? Susanna Clarke's ingenious first novel, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, has the cleverness and lightness of touch of the Harry Potter series, but is less a fairy tale of good versus evil than a fantastic comedy of manners, complete with elaborate false footnotes, occasional period spellings, and a dense, lively mythology teeming beneath the narrative. Mr. Norrell moves to London to establish his influence in government circles, devising such powerful illusions as an 11-day blockade of French ports by English ships fabricated from rainwater. But however skillful his magic, his vanity provides an Achilles heel, and the differing ambitions of his more glamorous apprentice, Jonathan Strange, threaten to topple all that Mr. Norrell has achieved. A sparkling debut from Susanna Clarke--and it's not all fairy dust. --Regina Marler

(retrieved from Amazon Wed, 25 Aug 2010 02:34:13 -0400)

(see all 5 descriptions)

In nineteenth-century England, all is going well for rich, reclusive Mr Norell, who has regained some of the power of England's magicians from the past, until a rival magician, Jonathan Strange, appears and becomes Mr Norrell's pupil.

» see all 4 descriptions

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