Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (2004) - Susanna Clarke
At 1000+ pages, this fantastical novel may take a while to read (it took me two months), but if you like Dickens, Austen and Gaiman then you’ll savour every word.
It’s character-driven and well-researched historical fiction. Two thoroughly British magicians seek to bring magic back to England. Real events and people (Wellington, Byron etc.) are referenced and given a sprinkle of strange magic.
There aren't many female characters, which it seems Clarke attempted to reconcile in her 2006 follow-up, The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories. Nevertheless, the eloquent men of JS & MN are entertaining and often charming. As well as these endearing characters, I was captured by the increasingly magical atmosphere of the northern English countryside.
So it’s not a magical action story like HP. It’s not an epic adventure quest like LOTR. It’s believable human characters - and maybe some faeries - in a Britain where the real sometimes blurs into the fantastical. Where a gentleman can sip his tea at home one moment, and understand the language of the trees, sky and stones the next.
Quality: 8
Plot: 7
Style: 9
Entertainment: 7
Depth: 7
= 7.6
