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)

Superb

Superb performance and story. Falling into Clarke’s rhythm was a blast. Prebble’s performance was stellar. Lovers of Stephen Fry and Jim Dale will enjoy this.

meh

if you are looking for a great fantasy novel, skip this one. it reads more like a history of old boring English magic.

Unparalleled

This book breaks free into a soaring flight; a raven flapping it’s dark wings. It’s story is strange yet fantastical and mesmerizing. Suddenly you will find yourself lost among its many passages then turn a familiar page upon the most beautiful piece of literature. Spellbinding… thank you SC. All of Englands’ stones and trees bow to the author queen!

Great stuff

Deep characters, twisting plots, changing loyalties, and just jolly good reading. Get yourself a copy today.

wonderfully crafted wonderment

A truly great piece of historical fiction set in early 1800's UK, where it diverges from actual history to tell the engaging tale of 2 magicians, seeking to restore the great Brtish magical traditions in the modern age & all the trials as well as tribulations resulting from their efforts...

The 2 main characters make for a classic set & no shortage of equally engaging supporting characters. This story is very imaginative, yet does a great job of adhering to the feel of a true historical account so well that despite the otherworldly subject matter, it's not difficult to briefly forget your enjoying a work of fiction- in my opinion, that's one mark of great historical fiction & in this case, it's done brilliantly, it's (numerous) footnotes included!

Really enjoyed this book... It's got a well crafted plot with the right blend of excitement, loss, imagination, unique perspectives & portrayals of beautiful and/or broken relationships to make a great story...,Doubt any fans of fantasy or historical fiction would be disappointed by it. Written in similar style to the magical historical fiction novel set in Britain, "Babel" & resembling the "Midnight in London" series in terms of its attention to detail (without the police procedural aspect of the latter), yet I liked this better than both of those examples.

The narrator skillfully a distinguishes the characters, each with a unique voice or inflection/accent, making for a great listen of a very enjoyable book!

Loved the character development and progression.

I enjoyed the readers creativity and the characters were very engaging. I recommend this book to those who enjoy historical fiction and magical adventures.

Epic!

it was simply a masterpiece. I've read it once and listened to it twice.

Best Listen In a Long Time

I never take the time to review the books I listen to off audible unless they are terrible or amazing, this one is amazing. There are other decent reviews of the plot, similar authors etc. so I will just hit two points:

1. The narration is excellent, it is saying something when a deep voiced man can accurately portray a female character with nuance and feeling and bring tears to my hard heart.

2. The massive detail and interesting footnotes make for a long book and for 80% of it's progress one is left interested but not knowing what it is all about. I consider this more of an asset than a defect but if you need everything spelled out for you and good and bad guys assigned clearly it may be frustraiting. It is not ADD friendly, it reads like it was written by someone who loves to read intricate books not someone who wanted a simple plot so it would make a easy screenplay (tho it is being made into a film anyway). As a result if you do not get past that 80% mark you are missing out on a real gem.

In closing this was an excellent listen, if you like the fantasy work of Ursula K. LeGuin (the books, not the worthless tv show) chances are you will love it.

Immersive, engrossing, probably not for everybody

I'm definitely in the camp with those who LOVE this book, rather than those who think it's length and breadth are a detriment.

Some stories are told in such a way that you're in the passenger seat of a sports car at high speed - you feel the road, are aware of every upcoming curve, and are gripping the seat for dear life. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell is not like this.

Think of this book like a long distance train ride: the story is delivered in a smooth, civilized way, at a pace that never seems excessive, even though the countryside the writer covers is beautiful and expansive, the horizons out every window are lush and as stretch as far as you can look. The pace is such that you have lots of time to become familiar with this world, with the characters, even though the amount of information delivered is vast.

That being said, there are a million small details, and if you aren't paying attention you might miss something that will become important information in holding together the strands of the story in the upcoming landscape: the significance of a river, a footnoted character, the location of a town.

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell is not a book you should listen to if you want a high speed romp through a sorcerer's battlefield. It is a book you should listen to if you want to give your brain a story to chew on that's interesting, a world that's just a twist from our own (i.e. with the additon of magic), that's been written and read by two people (Ms. Clarke and Mr. Preeble, respectively) who together create a fantastic and civilized journey through an ancient time that almost was.

Magic and Meaning

This is one of the best downloads I've heard. Susanna Clarke has hit a home run. The universe of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell is a strangely dark and disquieting one. The people are a complex mixture of good, evil and indifference and who is to know the difference. The musings about the Raven King and his role in the world echo theological arguments that entangle the great minds of today. She couches great themes in small events. Language has been well served in this book. A delight to listen to.