We think that Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is a very complicated book to properly talk about in a few words, but we will give it a go.The story is set in early 19th century England, and is full of the era's appropriate ominous, foreboding tones without being properly dark. The language is also suitably complex in a sort of Dickens/Austen fashion. And the book is more than 800 pages long, so you really do have to be up for that sort of thing. If you are looking for fast paced action, this isn’t the one for you.
In terms of the story itself, it focuses on a magician that appears in England, centuries after they were thought to be gone. At the same time a rival magician appears and a battle starts between them, against the background of England and France fighting it out in the Napoleonic Wars. It’s a fantasy book about fighting magicians, but Clarke manages to weave in all sorts of history and literature of the period. It’s genuinely impressive stuff. Honestly, if the idea behind the book, then it’s definitely worth a try.
