This is just a brilliant story. The only reason it was hard to read was because I wound up with a paperback edition that was in small print. At least I gave my reading glasses a good workout!The writing style is reminiscent of the early 19th century style of writing. There are many footnotes throughout that give one a richer sense of the alternate English history's background.It takes a bit, at first, to get drawn into the story and if the style of writing is one you either don't like or aren't used to, I urge you to stick with it.Mr. Norrell isn't the most interesting of the two main characters and much of the first third of the book is devoted to his machinations to make himself the only practicing magician in England. It is when Norrell raises a lovely woman from the dead that the story first grabbed me. I knew there was going to be trouble.When Jonathan Strange arrives, he's almost as annoying as Norrell (and I felt like slapping him, at times). He changes, though, when he goes off to war and helps England against Bonaparte with his magic. The personality change is subtle, but Strange begins to distance himself from Norrell. With a tragic event that involves Strange's practically ignored wife, Arabella, Strange loses it and the story steamrolls at that point.The most intriguing character to me, barely figured at all in the story: servant and advisor and your basic shady character, John Childermass.I couldn't help noticing some odd similarities between John Childermass and Severus Snape. At the very least, the descriptions of the two characters are practically alike! Since this book was published some 4 or 5 years after the first Harry Potter book, I wonder if the author read the HP books and might not have been unduly influenced. However, even if she was, John Childermass soon becomes quite different from Severus Snape. Both fascinating characters, though.Great book and I will enjoy reading it again in future, but in larger print! ( )

This is just a brilliant story. The only reason it was hard to read was because I wound up with a paperback edition that was in small print. At least I gave my reading glasses a good workout!The writing style is reminiscent of the early 19th century style of writing. There are many footnotes throughout that give one a richer sense of the alternate English history's background.It takes a bit, at first, to get drawn into the story and if the style of writing is one you either don't like or aren't used to, I urge you to stick with it.Mr. Norrell isn't the most interesting of the two main characters and much of the first third of the book is devoted to his machinations to make himself the only practicing magician in England. It is when Norrell raises a lovely woman from the dead that the story first grabbed me. I knew there was going to be trouble.When Jonathan Strange arrives, he's almost as annoying as Norrell (and I felt like slapping him, at times). He changes, though, when he goes off to war and helps England against Bonaparte with his magic. The personality change is subtle, but Strange begins to distance himself from Norrell. With a tragic event that involves Strange's practically ignored wife, Arabella, Strange loses it and the story steamrolls at that point.The most intriguing character to me, barely figured at all in the story: servant and advisor and your basic shady character, John Childermass.I couldn't help noticing some odd similarities between John Childermass and Severus Snape. At the very least, the descriptions of the two characters are practically alike! Since this book was published some 4 or 5 years after the first Harry Potter book, I wonder if the author read the HP books and might not have been unduly influenced. However, even if she was, John Childermass soon becomes quite different from Severus Snape. Both fascinating characters, though.Great book and I will enjoy reading it again in future, but in larger print! ( )

This is just a brilliant story. The only reason it was hard to read was because I wound up with a paperback edition that was in small print. At least I gave my reading glasses a good workout!The writing style is reminiscent of the early 19th century style of writing. There are many footnotes throughout that give one a richer sense of the alternate English history's background.It takes a bit, at first, to get drawn into the story and if the style of writing is one you either don't like or aren't used to, I urge you to stick with it.Mr. Norrell isn't the most interesting of the two main characters and much of the first third of the book is devoted to his machinations to make himself the only practicing magician in England. It is when Norrell raises a lovely woman from the dead that the story first grabbed me. I knew there was going to be trouble.When Jonathan Strange arrives, he's almost as annoying as Norrell (and I felt like slapping him, at times). He changes, though, when he goes off to war and helps England against Bonaparte with his magic. The personality change is subtle, but Strange begins to distance himself from Norrell. With a tragic event that involves Strange's practically ignored wife, Arabella, Strange loses it and the story steamrolls at that point.The most intriguing character to me, barely figured at all in the story: servant and advisor and your basic shady character, John Childermass.I couldn't help noticing some odd similarities between John Childermass and Severus Snape. At the very least, the descriptions of the two characters are practically alike! Since this book was published some 4 or 5 years after the first Harry Potter book, I wonder if the author read the HP books and might not have been unduly influenced. However, even if she was, John Childermass soon becomes quite different from Severus Snape. Both fascinating characters, though.Great book and I will enjoy reading it again in future, but in larger print! ( )

It took me a while to get around to reading this book but the wait was well worth it. Susanna Clarke conjures up a wonderful depiction of a 19th century England in which magic co-exists with modernity and comes to greatly enhance it. The characters are masterfully drawn and the plot is absolutely riveting. The ending was the only part that I didn't absolutely love and even then, it didn't ruin the whole book for me. Can't wait to see what Clarke writes next! ( )

This book (a doorstop really)took me a little while to become really attached to it, but once I put the effort in, it really came alive. Clarke has created an alternate Victorian England where magic is a still practiced and is even a part of the very country itself. I love the subtle humor and all the footnotes that Clarke includes to give you insight in to the world of Magic. What a great book! ( )