Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell

By: Susanna Clarke

Narrated by: Simon Prebble

Length: 32 hrs and 30 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

"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)

Enjoyable

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

While I could say that this book was too slow at times, it wouldn’t really be fair to do so since it is quite conscious, and one of the great charms about it. This is very far from the fantasy or alternate-history that you might be used to, and I believe it will go down well with those that read those kinds of books less for the action, and more for the thought-provokingness that such milieus can provide. The reading was also quite excellent.

Perfect on every level.

The most intelligent writing, wonderful story telling, perfect narration. A favorite book came to life in the audio version.

Outstanding!

I cannot begin to praise this book highly enough. It was wonderful in so many ways.

The book has an interesting structure. The main protagonist doesn't put in an appearance for the first few chapters. A fantasy tale about the 'restoration' of English magic, it is set during the time of the Napoleonic wars, in the early part of the 19th Century.

The characters are just so rich. You love them, hate them, are confused by them, but ultimately, there is charmingly absurd quality to all of them that really does answer to why this book is not your run of the mill fantasy novel. It's a very literate piece of fiction.

I have to say something about the writer's use of language. It's just spectacular. This book has a neverending stream of sentences that are delicious on the ear. Clarke's use of metaphor is fresh and breathtaking.

Finally, the narration is absolutely perfection.

A whole lot of story . . .

Clarke has created a fascinatingly complex world, with memorable characters sharply drawn.

Elegant, beautiful, mysterious

Among the best books I ever read. Beatifully written, beautifully read. I highly recommend it.

Believable Magic

A wonderful interwoven historical story of facts and magical happenings. The vivid descriptions allow one to immerse totally in the past where it feels quite plausible that magicians and magic occur and happen. A huge part of the enjoyment and becoming immersed in the story is due to the reading. Simon Prebble is a modern magician, of this there is no doubt.

A meandering and energetic tale.

What has happened to English magic? This is the question at the Society of York Magicians, a club of theoretical magicians who are no more than the intellectual and curious, for real magic has left the world, or perhaps it is practical understanding that has gone. Once fairy walked the world of man and visa-versa. Once magicians influenced the course of events, but no more. Enter Gilbert Norrell, a strange, arrogant and reclusive man who claims to be a real magician. “My intention”, declares Norrell “is to return magic to England”. The skeptical gentlemen of the Society challenge him to prove his claims and prove himself he does. Norrell is a rational and highly learned magician (although as we latter learn also gullible and easily influenced) who aims to re-establish magic under his rules. Meanwhile in the countryside Jonathan Strange, an unfocused man of privilege discovers by accident that he is a natural and intuitive magician, and in doing so finds purpose. When Norrell and Strange meet there are mixed emotions for in each other they find a peer but for Norrell there is an element of professional jealousy and a desire to shape and control Strange for his own purpose. Strange, on the other hand, is a man who is learning to trust his instincts. He chaffs under Norrell’s tutelage and his hidebound and insular ways. As the instinctual and rational circle each other debating the future course of magic, here enters the Fairy King of Lost Hope let loose into the world through Norrell’s ambition, and at last the story fair roars into life. This is a meandering and energetic tale set in a fully realized parallel world, wonderfully produced and narrated.
(While this novel is classified as Fantasy it is important to note that the magical and fairy elements are more of the Shakespearian variety than of the Tolkein).

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell

It is difficult to write anything about Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell that has not already been written, but Simon Prebble's reading takes this already superb modern fantasy and provides it with a tone and dramatic quality that makes a print copy almost redundant.
I listened to this book on my phone, my iPAQ or my iPOD, whenever and where ever I could get the time.

Riveting!!!

Once I started listening to this book - i couldn't stop until i reached the end of it! This is a magnificent piece of work!!!

For the love of language

This is a book for people who like to dwell in language. It is descriptive and the choice of language and phrasing matches perfectly the period of the setting: the early 1800s. It reflects, too, the types and class of people who it describes. The story is compelling, gently unfolding, drawing the listener into the world, both through the description of events, and the weaving in of magical "theoretical" texts which anchor the story into its bigger mythology of lost English magical traditions.

This is a long audio book and not suited to people who want to be swept along by a fast-paced narrative. If you are the kind of person who claimed that Tolkien's Lord of The Rings was too long or tedious, then you should avoid this book. For those who like deeply formed characters and a narrative that builds momentum steadily then this is a wonderful choice (& extremely well performed in this audio version).