Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
by Susanna ClarkeBloomsbury, 780 pp., $27.95
This bestselling behemoth posits what Regency-era England, the same period of the Napoleonic wars and thousands of romance novels, would have been like if humans had the ability to conjure faeries, raise the dead, summon ghost armies, and travel into the kingdom of the Raven King, a parallel universe where magic rules. At the heart of the book is the story of rival wizards: the bookish Mr. Norrell, a scholar who revives the use of “practical magic,” which he uses to enhance his social status, and his former student, the foppish Jonathan Strange, who is fond of dramatic gestures and risks exploring the magic realm. Clarke works hard to make her alternate, magical version of English history plausible. Factoids and backstory are delivered in the copious, entertaining footnotes, while numerous historical figures, such as Lord Wellington and the poet Byron, make cameos. At this length, the effect is quite convincing. In spite or perhaps because of its very wordiness, the book is also somewhat stilted, peopled with wooden characters playing the stock roles of villainous plotter, devoted wife, faithful servant, et al. That’s okay: Truly literary fantasy novels are rare. Believable ones are rarer still. This is an ambitious book that you’ll find is riveting – mostly for its vivid passages blending fact and fiction – but is also long-winded, so much so that you might find yourself having to fight through to the finish.
This article appears in December 17 • 2004.