"What kind of magic can make an 800-page novel seem too short?
Whatever it is, debut author Susanna Clarke is possessed by
it."
--USA Today on Jonathan Strange & Mr
Norrell
"Ravishing.A chimera of a novel that combines the dark mythology of
fantasy with the delicious social comedy of Jane Austen into a
masterpiece of the genre that rivals Tolkien...What really sets
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell apart is its treatment
of magic. Clarke''s magic is a melancholy, macabre thing,
confabulated out of snow and rain and mirrors and described with
absolute realism ... Clarke has another rare faculty: she can
depict evil ... [she] reaches down into fantasy''s deep, dark,
twisted roots, down into medieval history and the scary, Freudian
fairy-tale stuff. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
reminds us that there''s a reason fantasy endures: it''s the
language of our dreams. And our nightmares.''
--Time
"Clarke''s imagination is prodigious, her pacing is masterly and
she knows how to employ dry humor in the service of majesty."
--The New York Times on Jonathan Strange & Mr
Norrell
"Unquestionably the finest English novel of the fantastic written
in the last seventy years. It''s funny, moving, scary,
otherworldly, practical and magical, a journey through light and
shadow--a delight to read, both for the elegant and precise use of
words, which Ms. Clarke deploys as wisely and dangerously as
Wellington once deployed his troops, and for the vast sweep of the
story, as tangled and twisting as old London streets or dark
English woods. Closing Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrel
after 800 pages, my only regret was that it wasn''t twice the
length.... From beginning to end, a perfect pleasure."
--Neil Gaiman, author of Anansi Boys, American
Gods, and the Sandman series
"Immense, intelligent, inventive.Clarke is a restrained and witty
writer with an arch and eminently readable style."
--Entertainment Weekly on Jonathan Strange & Mr
Norrell
"Over the course of nearly 800 pages Clarke channels the world of
Jane Austen, the Gothic tale, the Silver-Fork Society novel,
military adventure à la Bernard Sharpe or Patrick O''Brian,
romantic Byronism and Walter Scott''s passion for the heroic
Northern past. She orchestrates all these fictive elements
consummately well.Many books are to be read, some are to be
studied, and a few are meant to be lived in for weeks. Jonathan
Strange & Mr. Norrell is of this last kind."
--The Washington Post on Jonathan Strange & Mr
Norrell
"Combining folklore and fantasy with horror-story imagination,
[Clarke] creates a Napoleonic-era England alive with the
promise--and danger--of uncontrollable forces.Clarke''s sober style
keeps the fantasy grounded, and meticulous historical research
brings the magical episodes to terrifying life."
--People (Critic''s choice, four stars) on Jonathan
Strange & Mr Norrell
"The most sparkling literary debut of the year."
--Salon on Jonathan Strange & Mr
Norrell
"Mesmerizing."
--Harper''s Bazaar on Jonathan Strange & Mr
Norrell
"This 800-page work of fantasy--think Harry Potter sprinkled with
the dust of Tolkien and Alasdair Gray--posits an extraordinary
alternative history of England where magic, fairies, spirits and
enchantments were once part of everyday life...This incredible work
of the imagination, which took Clarke more than 10 years to write,
ends all too soon."
--New York Post (four stars) on Jonathan
Strange & Mr Norrell
"Here is a writer who remembers that true fairy tales carry a sting
and the creatures themselves were never properly domesticated to
the nursery. Her uncanny book is an object lesson in the
pleasures--and risks--of enchantment."
--Village Voice on Jonathan Strange & Mr
Norrell
"Gorgeous.A terrific, phenomenally ambitious book."
--The Onion on Jonathan Strange & Mr
Norrell
"An instant classic, one of the finest fantasies ever
written."
--Kirkus Reviews (starred review) on Jonathan Strange
& Mr Norrell
"Extraordinary.Will enchant readers of fantasy and of literary
fiction alike."
--Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Jonathan
Strange & Mr Norrell
"A smashing success.History and fantasy form a beautiful
partnership in this detailed, authentic, and heartfelt
novel."
--Booklist (starred review) on Jonathan Strange &
Mr Norrell
"Wonderful. At almost 800 pages, it is an immense, densely plotted
story, peopled with a a vast cast of extremely well-drawn
characters, filled with unexpected events, ancient
prophesies,varied and exotic settings, and all manner of human and
inhuman conflict, and it is built one splendid scene upon the
next."
--Toronto Globe and Mail on Jonathan Strange
& Mr Norrell
"Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell comes across as equal
parts Jane Austen and Charles Dickens flavored with Rowling and
Tolkien. It''s inarguably one of the year''s best and most original
works."--National Post (Canada)
"Combines the wit of Jane Austen with the subterranean spookiness
of the works of Arthur Conan Doyle."
--Seattle Times on Jonathan Strange & Mr
Norrell
"An enthralling, unique read."
--Baltimore Sun
"Witty dialogue, cunning observations, and intriguing footnotes.[A]
sweeping adventure full of telling details, mixing history and
fantasy to create worlds of deep imagination that seem as real as
our own."
--San Francisco Chronicle on Jonathan Strange
& Mr Norrell
"While Jonathan Strange is every bit as whimsical and
playful as the Harry Potter books, it is also grave and upsetting,
the very opposite of comforting children''s entertainment.Clarke
has delivered a book of universal truths and unexpectedly
heartbreaking acuity."
--Fort Worth Star-Telegram
"Utterly enchanting. [Clarke''s] union of historical fiction and
fantasy is fresh, it is surprising, and it will appeal to those who
want nothing more than to be carried away to a world crafted by a
superb storyteller."
--Denver Post on Jonathan Strange & Mr
Norrell
"Extraordinary.If Harry Potter is the kind of book that
makes you want to be a kid again, Jonathan Strange & Mr
Norrell is the kind of novel that will remind you that being
an adult should be a whole lot more fun."
--Atlanta Journal-Constitution
"I found it absolutely compelling. The narrative drive is
irresistible and I could not stop reading until I had finished it.
The narrator''s tone is beautifully judged. It''s full of
wonderfully deadpan humour and its reticence leaves the reader to
make up his or her mind about the characters. I loved all the
invented scholarship and was fascinated by the mixture of
historical realism and utterly fantastic events. I almost began to
believe that there really was a tradition of ''English magic'' that
I had not heard about. The author captures the period and its
literary conventions with complete conviction. And a large part of
the fun is seeing how an early nineteenth century novel copes with
the impact of magic. It''s an astonishing achievement. I can''t
think of anything that is remotely like it."
--Charles Palliser, author of The Quincunx, on
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell