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)

Magic, Victorian Style

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is a Victorian novel written at least 125 years too late. Set in a Britain where magic is part of history, the novel rambles along like a grandmother walking through a rose garden. It deals humorously and respectfully with its major themes: friendship and its attendant duties, and knowledge and who gets custody of it.

Listeners who aren't used to the Victorian "three-volume" style may find themselves adrift. My advice to people in this situation is to sit back and enjoy the tangents, footnotes, and side plots. They're all humorous and perceptive, much in the style of Charles Dickens.

Of course, just when your attention is completely turned toward all of that, the main story will rise up and bonk you on the head with its rolled-up umbrella.

Older readers and fans of the Austen/Dickens style will probably enjoy this more than the Harry Potter teens-and-tweens group. English Lit majors and academics will choke themselves laughing--be careful if drinking liquids while listening, that's all I can say.

Narrator Simon Prebble does an excellent job--in a novel with so many characters, he manages to make them all sound different. It's rather a time commitment at 32 hours, but even so, I thought it was too short, with an ending that felt a bit rushed. Still, highly recommended.

A page turner, virtually speaking

A fascinating and highly entertaining fantasy tale. The plot takes about 2/3 of the book to get going, but it is written so well and the setting and characters are so interesting that I didn't mind. Once it did get going, I had a hard time putting it down. It is a period piece, set firmly in the early 19th century, with proper English gentlemen and their servants gadding about England. The interplay between the classes is carefully done and the dialogue is often hilarious because of this. Clarke cleverly weaves the story events around the Napoleonic wars and other names from history. The use of footnotes and plenty of rich background stories make it all seem believable.

The narrator is superb. He speaks clearly with plenty of emotion to suit the dialogue, and he nails the London and Yorkshire accents with unique voices for each character.

A very long fairy tale: ok(ish), interesting(ish).

Written as a fairy tale with footnotes. The footnotes added an interesting note to the storyline. Unfortunately the author put very little thought into the magical aspect of the tale (which is interesting since it is about magicians). The only real attempt to convince you there is a magical system is at the very end, when a few things are ...kind of... explained (spell-wise). Other than that, it is all at the whim of the tale. Everything is at the whim of the tale, logic be durned. One minute magical storms are brewed easily, the next minute the magician can't put out a single house fire (...perhaps one of those magical storms??). The main characters kind of act like real people, ....but only within the context of a fairy tale. And I really like fairy tales. But either go completely ingenious... or be real...don't try to be both, especially not at the same time. LOL. Still, a charming tale (that never really explores the really INTERESTING things hinted at). Oh well. :)

Descendant of Austen and Trollope

The best Audiobook I have listened to (and I have listened to many)! The author catches the genuine cadence of the early 19th century, rarely lapsing into language Jane Austen would not have recognized and admired. There is a great deal of wit and an enormous amount of invention. The characters are subtle and complex, but clearly recognizable - we have met such people, though not in an England of rampant magic such as the authoress describes.
Those who expect confrontation or copulation on every page might prefer the book to have been shorter, and should probably avoid it altogether. I should have preferred that it never end.

Great Book!

What other book might you compare Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell to and why?

Although totally different writing styles, I would compare this book to Game of Thrones for its ability to develop a a very descriptive multi-layered story, amazing plots and subplots, and outstanding character development.

Which character – as performed by Simon Prebble – was your favorite?

Loved all the main characters but would have to say, that Steven and Jonathan Strange were my favorites.

Better than the physical book - highly recommended

Where does Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of my favorites, certainly top 20, maybe top 10. It is long, which I prefer, yet I was sorry to finish. Very enjoyable listen

What was one of the most memorable moments of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell?

I have read the physical book so I really enjoyed the pacing of the audio versus the physical read. I found that the audio book gets through the slower parts a bit quicker, which in this book is a big plus.

What about Simon Prebble’s performance did you like?

He has a distinctive voice for each character and I felt like they were generally good fits. His accents were good, quite good.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Too long to do so but I couldn't put it down after the half way point

Long Elegant Fantasy

Years ago I tried (and failed) to read this as a book, but found the prose (artfully in keeping with the period) too slow and it failed to grip my interest.

But this audio, which stopped me from trying to read ahead, gave me the time to appreciate the well-written, intelligent historical fantasy with its masterful sense of time and place. It is a book to savour, not gallop through. Even the footnotes worked. The novel's subtle humour is gentle and sometimes wry.

Highly recommend it

Simply magic.

What made the experience of listening to Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell the most enjoyable?

Like all great literature, this is a book that you have to meet half-way (it's not the sort of book you can zone out listening to and hope to catch up with later), but I guarantee it's more than worth the effort. Reading this book is like being inserted into a fully-formed parallel universe, a deliriously intricate world where it feels like you could turn off from the main narrative at any alleyway or country road and find a thousand new stories and characters waiting for you. I had tears in my eyes by the time I got to the end, in part because of the bittersweet ending, but also because it was over and there was so much more I wanted to see.

Any additional comments?

About the audiobook specifically: Simon Prebble does a masterful job with a truly daunting task (32 hours of reading with hundreds of different characters and a narrative that spans several decades). I can see how the many footnotes might make listening a little cumbersome; I don't know how I'd feel about them if I hadn't read the physical book first (I know with the CD version of this audiobook, the footnotes are listed on separate tracks so than can be easily skipped over or skipped back, which, unfortunately, doesn't seem to be the case here).

How Pleasant it is to Meet Old Friends!

How delightful it is to revisit a story you fell in love with a decade ago, and to find it even more wise and charming than you remembered. You must think me very silly and melodramatic to say so, but I assure you there is no better way to pass the time.

So, how have my dear friends fared in the time between? I am happy to report back and say that Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is still a marvelous story filled with odd yet loveable characters, a terrible faerie, footnotes, and magic that manages to be sublime yet fantastic, quiet yet full of gravity and grace.

Let me provide an example. There is a moment when one of the gentlemen mentioned above is asked to perform magic for the other, as well as some other gentlemen I will not name here. So, the put-upon magician takes a book, places it in front of a mirror. The other magician gasps with wonder and amazement at the magic the first magician has done, while the unnamed gentlemen merely look on in puzzlement, unable to guess what has happened. The second gentlemen explains with great pleasure that the book and its reflection have changed places, while the first gentlemen admits he has no idea how to return the book from the mirror, and its reflection from the world.

Listening to this book, I felt much like another witness delighting in the quiet magic I was observing, reveling in it and telling all my friends and family about it. I was probably a bit insufferable, but I did not mind!

Mr. Prebble does a splendid job narrating, and perhaps manages to make the footnotes even more enjoyable than when I first read them, which is not a feat I thought possible. For instance, when Childermass is reciting examples of magic, each accompanied by a footnote, I found myself chuckling at the repeated interruptions the author had cleverly woven.

Do take the time to visit with Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, whether it be the first time you make these gentlemen's acquaintance, or a reunion. I daresay the meeting will be one that leaves you enchanted long after you've parted ways.

One of my new favorite books

The first time I read this book, I remember it being almost a chore because of its length and the presentation of its content; however, from the first, the witty humor and impressive imagery captured my interest well enough to guide me on to the magnificent ending.

The sense of ancient, wild magic is not lost in the drawing rooms and parlors of the early 1800s, but rather, it is emphasized. I never had a taste for Jane Austen, whose writing I have heard some compare Suzanna Clarke, and I think it must be the content, because I love the delivery of each sentence more and more each time I read this novel. I always notice something new that hadn't stood out before.

The only reason I dock a star is for the slow beginning, which, if you don't know what you are getting into, seems pretty dull. I have read the book 5 or 6 times over the last decade now, and the whole thing goes by much more quickly; so that aspect is not only bearable, but enjoyable because you know more of what is going on.