Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell

I read this strange and riveting novel several years ago, so I have to confess that I’ve forgotten a lot of the details.

But I have remembered with absolute clarity the richness of the prose and the well-observed wit, so reminiscent of all the Victorian novels I devoured when I was young; the imaginative scope of a world in which an empire can rise or fall on the skill of her magicians, and the all-too-familiar danger of a rivalry between two powerful and ambitious men vying for supremacy.

It is delightful, moving, and an absolute pleasure from beginning to end.

I read less fiction than I’d like to, but this book absolutely consumed me from start to finish. Its wit, historicism, characterisation, and idiosyncrasies were wonderful to be immersed in for a time.

It's an original subject for a book, and its immersion in the period was tonally flawless. It’s a long book; I wished it was longer, I could barely put it down while I was reading it.

I couldn't resist recommending one of my favorite novels.

The period following the French Revolution has often been described in terms of the birth of the modern nation-state and the globalization of the domination of nature, but Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, despite being a work of fiction, does a better job than many works of history in undermining these myths and portraying popular attitudes toward fairies and magic in the early 19th century.

When many people think of fairies, they imagine Tinker Bell and little winged creatures, but cutesy fairies were a Victorian invention, and Clarke preserves the ambiguities… show more.

As you probably gathered from my notes above, when it comes to reading historical fantasy, I think there are tons of great options. But if you only try one of the books I’m highlighting, make it Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. Susanna Clarke’s masterpiece has whimsy for days and is set in one of my favorite eras (Napoleonic Europe). And even when I laid the book down during some of the slower bits, I never doubted I’d pick it back up; Clarke’s stewardship was too amusing, too inventive, and ultimately too trustworthy—I always had faith she was shepherding me… show more.

Reading great works of speculative fiction (amazing world-building and intentional, controlled prose) has been an adventure in discovery. One of these pearls dropped into my lap quite unexpectedly… the best kind of pearl. I was rummaging through an old used book shop and recognized the title Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell. Hmmm. I know I knew the title, but where? Oh, that’s right! It was all the rage in the early 2000s. I picked up the tome, bought it, and settled down for a read. Boom! Susanna Clarke’s world-building and prose style (while very British) had created a master… show more.

From the first feat of magic, where stone grinds over stone, whispering with life, you know you’re somewhere special. Clarke brings a warm amusement to the tale of scholarly magicians dealing with disastrous fairies, who are filled with magic but not, unfortunately, with kindness or reason. There are many ways to do fairies, and Clarke’s is both funny and dangerous. An influence on my book was living with a neurodivergent family, and it feels like Jonathan Strange picks up on narcissism. I’d be fibbing if I said she wasn’t a big influence – mostly because she expanded the horizons, showing… show more.

This book takes place in the early 19th century and is masterfully written in the style of the time. The language is magical. I find every tangent, every pages-long footnote captivating. They are largely what makes the narrative so eerie, so other-worldly.

Clarke has taken the folklore of England and created it anew, with one important addition: the Raven King. The man who brought magic into the world. What she has created is dark and wild and harkens back to pre-Victorian folklore which is both thrilling and terrifying. All that the Victorians did to sanitize and civilize the myths of… show more.

I will always recall reading the end of this book as being one of the most powerful emotional moments that I have ever had in connection with a piece of art. Clarke’s capacity for such precision in the imagined realm culminates in an experience that is otherworldly. It’s magic in its purest form.

This captures more of the alternate history aspect of the genre than my other recommendations, it feels more grounded in a sense, written in the style of 19th Century novels to invoke the time period in the best way. 

Here magic is widely acknowledged, having been common in the past but is now with limited practitioners, namely the title characters. It is a fascinating exploration of how differently recent history would have gone under the influence of magic, and how those who wield it would have been viewed in society.

It bridges my love of historical fiction and fantasy, blending… show more.

In a magisterial book that set the bar for historical fantasy, Susanna Clarke’s reimagining of the Napoleonic wars is seamlessly suffused with the rediscovery of working magic in England by an odd couple of gentlemen magicians. The tone, the prose, and the dialogue are pitch-perfect for the early nineteenth century. There are high stakes and wild faeries and plenty of class-bound foibles and intrigues. But what makes this story shine is the whole new stratum of British lore Ms. Clarke slowly builds (much of it through footnotes, of all things). By the end, Clarke’s mythical Raven King felt every bit… show more.