Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell

By: Susanna Clarke

Narrated by: Simon Prebble

Length: 32 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

English magicians were once the wonder of the known world, with fairy servants at their beck and call; they could command winds, mountains, and woods. But by the early 1800s they have long since lost the ability to perform magic. They can only write long, dull papers about it, while fairy servants are nothing but a fading memory.

But at Hurtfew Abbey in Yorkshire, the rich, reclusive Mr. Norrell has assembled a wonderful library of lost and forgotten books from England's magical past and regained some of the powers of England's magicians. He goes to London and raises a beautiful young woman from the dead. Soon he is lending his help to the government in the war against Napoleon Bonaparte, creating ghostly fleets of rain-ships to confuse and alarm the French.

All goes well until a rival magician appears. Jonathan Strange is handsome, charming, and talkative, the very opposite of Mr. Norrell. Strange thinks nothing of enduring the rigors of campaigning with Wellington's army and doing magic on battlefields. Astonished to find another practicing magician, Mr. Norrell accepts Strange as a pupil. But it soon becomes clear that their ideas of what English magic ought to be are very different. For Mr. Norrell, their power is something to be cautiously controlled, while Jonathan Strange will always be attracted to the wildest, most perilous forms of magic. He becomes fascinated by the ancient, shadowy figure of the Raven King, a child taken by fairies who became king of both England and Faerie, and the most legendary magician of all. Eventually Strange's heedless pursuit of long-forgotten magic threatens to destroy not only his partnership with Norrell, but everything that he holds dear.

Sophisticated, witty, and ingeniously convincing, Susanna Clarke's magisterial novel weaves magic into a flawlessly detailed vision of historical England. She has created a world so thoroughly enchanting that 32 hours leave readers longing for more.

©2004 Susanna Clarke (P)2004 Audio Renaissance, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishers, LLC, and Bloomsbury Publishing

Critic reviews

• Hugo Award Winner, Best Novel, 2005

• World Fantasy Award Winner, 2005

• Audie Award Finalist, Literary Fiction, 2005

"A smashing success....An exceptionally compelling, brilliantly creative, and historically fine-tuned piece of work." (Booklist)
"Extraordinary....Immersion in the mesmerizing story reveals its intimacy, humor, and insight, and will enchant readers of fantasy and literary fiction alike." (Publishers Weekly)
"Ravishing...superb...combines the dark mythology of fantasy with the delicious social comedy of Jane Austen into a masterpiece of the genre that rivals Tolkien." (Time)
"Clarke welcomes herself into an exalted company of British writers - not only, some might argue, Dickens and Austen, but also the fantasy legends Kenneth Grahame and George MacDonald - as well as contemporary writers like Susan Cooper and Philip Pullman." (The New York Times Book Review)

Uniquely enjoyable

Not like any other fantasy book. If you are a fan of the fantasy super-genre, this is a must read after greats like Tolkein and LeGuin.

Thoroughly enjoyable

An excellent value for your money (or for your credit). Simon Prebble is an impressive voice actor, and I have to say that his voice for the Duke of Wellington sounds so much like General Bernard Montgomery that I nearly fell out of my chair laughing every time I heard it, at just how appropriate it was. I can only hope that it was deliberate on his part. Bravo and well done!

Best audio book yet!

I loved this book. In fact, it's probably the best audio book I've yet listened to; and as an avid consumer and Audbile member over many years, that's saying a lot!

Spectacle, magic duels, dragons, and adventure are not what this novel is about. If you're looking for something light, shallow, and Hollywood, try Harry Potter. This is a book for historians and literary buffs who appreciate exquisitely crafted stories and finely tuned language. It captured and enthralled me from the very first paragraph.

If you liked American Gods and The Historian, you'll love this.

The production quality and narration is also unparalleled. The narrator had an amazing ability to put just the right amount of nudge-nudge-wink-wink in exactly the right places to make me laugh out loud more than once.

Absolutely FANTASTIC!

Good read!

Very enjoyable piece of work. It can be rather dense and requires the reader to pay careful attention or risk getting lost in the details. For the patient reader, this book is thoroughly rewarding. The narration is fantastic.

Enjoying it again after last reading ten years ago

This book has always been a favorite. I remember listening to it on CDs on a ten hour drive when it first came out. I had to finish listening to it on the return trip.

I just love all the quirky characters, plot twists, the whole historical world and magic worlds in which it's set. And of course, Simon Prebble is one of my all time favorite readers.

A tour de force

This is an absolutely outstanding piece of work. I was spellbound throughout.

a long tale

I wasn't on the edge of my seat, but enjoyed the book very much.

Tedious but fun

This is the type of book that is more fun listening to than reading. The reader, first of all is excellent. However this book is not for everyone. It tries to imitate 19 century English literature style with all the English snobbery, ego, coldness, and often borishness that you would expect. The story is definately to long, written like a doctorate thesis with loads of imaginary footnotes, and can be very dry. All this, however, almost makes you believe the fiction you are reading.

This book breaks new ground as historical fiction and fantasy combined. Unlike most fantasies it also has complexity, rich character development, and a richness that comes from the 10 years of dedication to a project by a great author.

Great story improved by a brilliant narrator

Susanna Clarke has written an epic novel here. The world which she has created is described with such colorful precision, and the characters are so human, it is at least as believable an alternate history - and likely much more - than any you may have read.

The characters are brought to vivid life by Simon Prebble, maybe the most gifted narrator I've had the pleasure of listening to. It is amazing that this amazing actor can create so many distinct personalities. Every one of them is absolutely believable and equally important, they are all immediately recognizable without commentary.

Like other reviewers here, I plan to add a physical copy of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell to my library to refer back to and share.

Highly recommended.

Great fun, luxurious language, clever world

What great fun! Complex storytelling within a completely realized world, peopled with historical figures next to fully realized characters. I certainly hope the author plans to return to these worlds soon!