Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell has been hailed as the best fantasy novel in 70 years. That is a fulsome compliment and one I could quibble with but it is certainly one of the best fantasies that I have ever read.

In a nutshell, this is an 800 page book about the return of real magic to Great Britain. It is set in the years of the Georgian regency and the Napoleonic Wars. The magicians Gilbert Norrell and Jonathan Strange are workman-like, even prosaic, in their practices as they help the British to defeat Bonaparte yet the infusion of Faerie grows daily stronger until their their own mistakes and arrogances threaten not only themselves but England.

It is written after the style of early mid 19th century writers. It flirts with being Dickensian (with delightful minor characters) but flavored with a Jane Austen-like measure of subtle humor and keen observation of foibles. It intermixes real people like Lord Byron and the Duke of Wellington and historical incidents of the time to make this read like a lively, amusing glimpse into a real world and not the usual sword-and-sorcery swashbuckling too often found in fantasies.

Literary fiction is not my cup of tea, but this is a long, deep satisfying immersion into another, yet not completely other, world. It is perfect for quiet, winter nights when the workday is done and the imagination is free to fancy.

-- mel