The novel manages to be both witty and scholarly, driven by plot yet adept at leisurely character development, and as concerned with drawing rooms and high society as it is with dusty magicians’ libraries and other-worldly landscapes. Much of the achievement of the book rests on its winning combination of the worlds of fantasy and society. Neither magician seems to have taken very seriously an ancient prophecy concerning their roles in the resurrection of magic in England, and eventually, in order to save his own wife, Strange is forced to join forces again with Norrell in a cataclysmic finale. But Norrell is closely guarded by insidious hangers-on, and eventually a rift develops between master and pupil, and the two go their separate ways – inevitably becoming rivals. Strange becomes magician to the Duke of Wellington, assisting in his military campaigns in Europe. Jonathan Strange comes to magic quite by chance but finds he has rather a gift for it, and together the two magicians make an astonishing impact on the worlds of politics, war and society with their very English brand of magic. Unfortunately, his jealous and guarded personality doesn’t make him the easiest person to get along with, and when he agrees – at first reluctantly – to tutor a pupil, everyone gets along with his protégé much better. After proving his credentials by making the statues of York Minster come to life, Mr Norrell leaves behind a reclusive scholarly life and moves to London, where he quickly becomes the toast of high society. So when a group of scholars in York discover someone capable of actually performing spells, it’s a major event.
Set in the early nineteenth century, the novel describes an England where ‘theoretical magicians’ study learned texts but nobody actually practices magic. It has since been translated into many languages, and excited considerable film adaptation interest too.
Yet Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (2004), which took Clarke over ten years to write, became a huge publishing phenomenon. Nobody could have predicted in 2004 that an 800-page story about 19th-century magicians and fairies would top the bestseller lists. Susanna Clarke’s debut novel was nothing if not distinctive.
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