At 782 pages in hardcover, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell is no quick read. But this blend of fantasy and alternate history is eminently entertaining.
Published in 2004 and followed a decade later by a British TV miniseries, the novel tells the story of two initially allied but eventually estranged magicians who, in the early 19th century, try to revive a world in which magic was a commonplace and powerful facet of British life. And when I say “magic” I don’t mean card tricks.
This is earthshaking, life-altering, history-making stuff we’re talking about here (think Napoleonic Wars). The world Clarke creates is so thoroughly detailed that the novel comes with well over 100 footnotes.
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