Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell: A Novel
It is an engaging and complex tale of the revitalization of English magic during the Napoleonic Wars.
The novel is writing in the style of the nineteenth century. It is, of course, a work of fiction, but Susanna Clarke paints such a convincing picture of the history of English magic that I left the book half-believing that it all really happened.
The book opens in the early 1800s when practical magic had been forgotten and replaced by theoretical magicians. The York Society of Learned Magicians learn of a Mr. Norrell a practicing magician who stuns them by making statues talk about what they have seen. Mr. Norrell enters the limelight as England’s only practical magician. Meanwhile, Jonathan Strange, who has a natural predilection for magic approached Mr. Norrell in hopes of being taken in as his student. They do not get along well, but Mr. Norrell takes him in—while keeping certain secrets from him. They eventually become rivals.
The novel is filled with other characters like the Man with the Thistledown Hair, who is a delightful, yet malicious and terrifying fairy. He takes a liking to the Butler Stephen Black and holds him hostage by summoning him each night to the fairy realm to partake in a ball.
As a physicist, I really appreciate this quote from the book “The practice of magic makes the theory so much easier to understand.” (page 280) It reminds me of Arthur C. Clarke‘s “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic” from “Profiles of the Future: An Inquiry into the Limits of the Possible
Another favorite quote of mine is: “I have never experienced magic at first hand before. I do not think that I shall be in any great hurry to do so again. It is most eerie and unpleasant. How in the world is a man to know what to do when nothing behaves as it should?” (page 558) I think that I like this because it speaks to the importance of prediction in our ability to understand our world.
The Man with the Thistledown Hair brings Lady Pole back to Life - Portia Rosenberg
The compelling black and white sketches by Portia Rosenberg
The one above shows the Man with the Thistledown Hair hovers over Lady Pole before he brings her back to life.
This book is hopefully being made into a movie. I hope that they take the time to do it right as it is a fascinating and complex tale.
You can get Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell: A Novel
This post was written by drknuth on February 3, 2009
