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The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories

by Susanna Clarke

Other authors: See the other authors section.

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
4,1701292,822 (3.87)233
Fiction. Short Stories. HTML:

Following the enormous success of 2004 bestseller and critics' favorite Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Susanna Clarke delivers a delicious collection of ten stories set in the same fairy-crossed world of 19th-century England. With Clarke's characteristic historical detail and diction, these dark, enchanting tales unfold in a slightly distorted version of our own world, where people are bedeviled by mischievous interventions from the fairies. With appearances from beloved characters from her novel, including Jonathan Strange and Childermass, and an entirely new spin on certain historical figures, including Mary, Queen of Scots, this is a must-have for fans of Susanna Clarke and an enticing introduction to her work for new listeners.

.… (more)
  1. 163
    Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke (billiecat, celtic)
  2. 100
    The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany (billiecat)
  3. 100
    Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders by Neil Gaiman (Larkken)
    Larkken: The short stories contained in each anthology have a similar feel, and both, to some degree, play with traditional fairy tale themes. Clarke's novel benefits from reading her debut novel, as this collection is placed in the same world.
  4. 40
    Fairy and Folk Tales of Ireland by W. B. Yeats (billiecat)
  5. 30
    Smith of Wootton Major by J. R. R. Tolkien (paradoxosalpha)
  6. 20
    Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees (Jannes)
    Jannes: A wonderful tale about elves, humans and the delicate balance between them, written in the same florid and fariy-tale-esque vein that both Dunsany and Clarke uses so effectively.
  7. 20
    Kingdoms of Elfin by Sylvia Townsend Warner (Michael.Rimmer)
  8. 11
    Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link (jujuvail)
  9. 00
    An Encyclopedia of Fairies: Hobgoblins, Brownies, Bogies, & Other Supernatural Creatures by Katharine Briggs (Michael.Rimmer)
    Michael.Rimmer: Contains the original fairy tale, "Tom Tit Tot", the basis for Clarke's "Lickerish Hill".
  10. 00
    Finn MacCool and the Small Men of Deeds by Pat O'Shea (themulhern)
    themulhern: Both are the second book of two outstanding authors of obvious and extraordinary talent, who, apparently due to ill-health, could not truly follow up their original success, and so turned to a less ambitious, but still exceptionally and characteristically good follow up work.… (more)
  11. 01
    Greek Myths: A Wonder Book for Girls and Boys by Nathaniel Hawthorne (themulhern)
    themulhern: In the title story in "The Ladies of Grace Adieu" one of the ladies tells a little bedtime story of John Uskglass, the Raven King, when he is but a child. The two children for whom the story is invented are orphans, under the care of their governess, who is another of the ladies. The point of the story is that the two children should not fear some things of a magical and sinister nature that they have noticed, because those things are really for their protection. The manner in which the story is told seems influenced at least by Hawthorne's stories from the Greek myths, which adapt many of the settings and actions to be more familiar or more like the school stories of Hawthorne's own time.… (more)
  12. 15
    Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by J. K. Rowling (norabelle414)
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» See also 233 mentions

English (125)  Spanish (1)  French (1)  Swedish (1)  Dutch (1)  Hungarian (1)  All languages (130)
Showing 1-5 of 125 (next | show all)
Collection of short stories about Faerie matters. Mixed in quality. ( )
  simbaandjessie | Feb 8, 2024 |
good, but I think I've had my fill of fairies now. ( )
  emmby | Oct 4, 2023 |
Disclosure: I adore Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell so much I bought a hardcover and have read it three times, and will no doubt read it again. I also loved her sleek, atmospheric Piranesi. So I was pleasantly surprised when one of my local libraries (the only one in a very large suburban system) had a copy of Ladies on the shelf. I will confess that had I begun with this, I might not have pursued Clarke's work in any hurry, though I would have gotten to it eventually.

I see this collection as an interesting look into Clarke's voice, her imaginative wit, her writing gifts and fascinations that exploded into the marvel that is JS&MN. The stories feel like test runs, explorations, and sometimes an almost offhand "hmm, here's a thought - let's see where this might have come from... or where this might go." Tom Brightwind clearly is of the same ilk as the fabulous Gentleman with the Thistledown Hair. Clarke also uses her opportunity to present "ladies" in a way JS&MN didn't fully afford - I especially liked the title story of three quietly sly and independent ladies with a certain affinity with owls. Clarke turns needlework and embroidery - those traditional pursuits to which ladies of her favored era were often doomed - into clever and mordantly funny exercises in power. And she has fun with wrangling or upending classic fairy-tale tropes like Rumpelstiltskin or the "poor fool" who outwits a mighty king into tales that are at least entertaining if not completely original.

If you're already a fan, this collection is fun and enjoyable. If not, this may not change your mind. But try JS&MN anyway because that is her "mistress-work." ( )
  JulieStielstra | Jul 18, 2023 |
Short stories, mostly set in the same world as Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, published in various anthologies. Even the one set in a different universe is in the same vein, which is an England of several centuries past, where the land of Faerie strongly impinges on the lives of various people. A few stories play with extended footnotes, as in the novel, but most do not. I enjoyed the writing and wry wit, but they all are pretty much of the same cloth: enter the land of Faerie at your own risk. These work better read over a long period of time, I think. None have the depth of characterization or darkness that the novel often achieved.

Recommended, especially for fans of the novel and those considering reading it. If you hated the novel, you will almost certainly hate this collection. ( )
  ChrisRiesbeck | Jul 17, 2023 |
Didn't finish. Barely started. I can't stand the writing, this pseudo-medieval boring and longwinded storytelling where there is little story, no movement, not anything fun. ( )
  cwebb | Jul 10, 2023 |
Showing 1-5 of 125 (next | show all)
In the end, Ladies of Grace weaves a similar magic as Jonathan Strange, but perhaps the book is not magical enough.
added by Shortride | editBookmarks Magazine (Jan 1, 2007)
 
the stories in The Ladies of Grace Adieu are consistently subtle and enchanting, and as charismatic as any reader could wish, but, while the collection has the panache of [Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell], it lacks its glorious self-possession. The stories feel a little adrift, a little raw, occasionally too neat; they're not the natural heirs to the magnum opus. But then, how could they be, and why should they be? A short fiction collection is a different beast to a novel, and is bound to work on its readers in entirely different ways.

 
They are uniformly clever and meticulously composed, knowledgeable of folk traditions while giving them a modern spin.
 
Whether it takes 10 months or 10 years to produce her next full-length work, Susanna Clarke is a better writer than this showcase would have you believe. Devotees and completist fans of Strange and Norrell will want to get their hands on this book, but the rest will probably want to wait.
 
"Mr. Simonelli or the Fairy Widower" is the most authentically creepy story here. A tale of a fairy who kidnaps young women and consigns them to the direst conditions imaginable, it wanders into Stephen King territory, though without the overt gore. "John Uskglass and the Cambrian Charcoal Burner" is a perfectly constructed fable with a witty, judicious outcome.
 

» Add other authors (13 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Clarke, Susannaprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Borner, PetraCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Porter, DavinaNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Prebble, SimonNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Vess, CharlesIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Epigraph
Faerie is never as far away as you think. Sometimes you find you have crossed an invisible line and must cope, as best you can, with petulant princesses, vengeful owls, ladies who pass their time embroidering terrible fates, or with endless paths in deep dark woods and houses that never appear the same way twice.

The heroines and heroes bedevilled by such problems in these fairy tales include a conceited Regency clergyman, an eighteenth-century Jewish doctor and Mary Queen of Scots, as well as two characters from Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell: Strange himself and the Raven King.
Dedication
For my parents, Janet and Stuart Clarke
First words
Introduction by Professor James Sutherland, Director of Sidhe Studies, University of Aberdeen:
I have approached this collection with two very modest aims in mind. The first is to throw some sort of light on the development of magic in the British Isles at different periods; the second is to introduce the reader to some of the ways in which Faerie can impinge upon our own quotidian world, in other words to create a sort of primer to Faerie and fairies.
Above all remember this: that magic belongs as much to the heart as to the head and everything which is done, should be done from love or joy or righteous anger.
Quotations
"Magic, madam, is like wine and, if you are not used to it, it will make you drunk."
The governess was not much liked in the village. She was too tall, too fond of books, too grave, and, a curious thing, never smiled unless there was something to smile at.
As David walked along dim, echoing corridors and trotted up immense stone staircases, he bade a cheerful "Good Morning! Good Morning!" to everyone he passed. But the only answer that he got was doubtful nods and curious stares, for no matter how often he visited the house, the inhabitants could never get used to him. His face was neither dazzlingly handsome nor twisted and repulsive. His figure was similarly undistinguished. His countenance expressed neither withering scorn nor irresistible fascination, but only good humour and a disposition to think well of everyone. It was a mystery to the fairy inhabitants of Castel des Tours Saunz Nowmbre why any one should wish to wear such an expression upon his face.
"I am writing my historie," sayz I, "Where doe I begin?"

"Oh!" sayz Mr Aubrey, "begin where you chuse, Miranda, but putte it down very quick while it is fresh and sprightly in your Braine. For remembrances are like butterflies and just you as you thinke you have them flie out of the window. If all the thinges I have forgott, Miranda, were putte into His Majesties Navy, 'twould sink the fleet."
"And the young woman," whispered Mrs. Field, "who is she?"

Miss Tobias raised an eye-brow and said, "She says that she is Mrs Winbright. But Captain Winbright says that she is not. I had not supposed it to be a point capable of so wide an interpretation."
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
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References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (1)

Fiction. Short Stories. HTML:

Following the enormous success of 2004 bestseller and critics' favorite Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Susanna Clarke delivers a delicious collection of ten stories set in the same fairy-crossed world of 19th-century England. With Clarke's characteristic historical detail and diction, these dark, enchanting tales unfold in a slightly distorted version of our own world, where people are bedeviled by mischievous interventions from the fairies. With appearances from beloved characters from her novel, including Jonathan Strange and Childermass, and an entirely new spin on certain historical figures, including Mary, Queen of Scots, this is a must-have for fans of Susanna Clarke and an enticing introduction to her work for new listeners.

.

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Book description
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An anthology
of faery-themed short stories –
Charles Vess illustrates.
(passion4reading)

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