Our Take
The great pleasure of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is how fully Susanna Clarke commits to her invented history. This is a Regency England where magic once flourished, complete with scholarly footnotes, fairy tales, and invented books that make the whole world feel centuries deep. It is a big book at 782 pages, and it rewards patience. Clarke's voice owes a clear debt to nineteenth century novelists such as Jane Austen and Charles Dickens, and the comedy of manners sits comfortably beside the fantasy. The two title characters make a wonderful odd couple. Norrell is cautious, jealous, and bookish, while Strange is bold and curious. Their clashing views on magic drive the story, and the novel keeps asking what it costs to control something wild. If you want fast action, this may feel slow. If you enjoy atmosphere, wit, and a world built with real care, it is hard to beat. The tone is closer to a classic English novel than to modern epic fantasy, and that is exactly its charm. Readers who loved Clarke's later novel Piranesi will enjoy seeing where her imagination started. Fans of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern will appreciate the lush, old world magic, and those who liked The Magicians by Lev Grossman will enjoy another thoughtful take on what magic does to the people who practice it. Best for patient readers who like their fantasy literate, funny, and a little eerie.
