Description

The 20th anniversary edition of the fantasy classic, with an introduction by V E Schwab
Over 4 million copies sold

‘One of the greatest fantasy writers of her generation’ New York Times
‘The book I wish I’d written’ R F Kuang
‘Susanna Clarke writes with an intelligence and beauty that seems at times miraculous’ Katherine Rundell
‘A modern masterpiece’ Spectator

1806. England is beleaguered by the long war, and centuries have passed since magicians faded from view. But one remains: the reclusive Mr Norrell. Proceeding to London, he raises a woman from the dead and summons an army of ghostly ships to terrify the French.

Yet the cautious Norrell is challenged by the emergence of another magician. Young, handsome and daring, Jonathan Strange is his very antithesis. So begins a dangerous battle between these two great men – which overwhelms that between England and France. And soon their own secret dabblings with the dark arts are going to cause more trouble than they can imagine…

‘Like Hilary Mantel, Clarke has made the very notion of genre seem quaint’ Guardian

Publisher Review

Clarke creates a world beyond our wildest imagination that also tells us something profound about what it is to be human -- BERNARDINE EVARISTO A modern masterpiece ... It is that rare beast, a cult novel that is also a mainstream smash hit and continues to beguile its legions of readers to the present day ... An indelible, fascinating story, one to lose oneself in for days, even weeks * SPECTATOR * What a world Susanna Clarke conjures into being -- DAVID MITCHELL A miraculous and luminous feat of storytelling -- MADELINE MILLER Clarke's imagination is prodigious, her pacing masterly * NEW YORK TIMES * One of the greatest and most interesting writers of fantasy in the past hundred years or more * TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT * Full of epic sweep and intimate human drama ... An imaginative treat * DAILY TELEGRAPH * Many books are to be read, and a few are meant to be lived in for weeks. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is of this last kind * WASHINGTON POST * Purely joyful reading -- NAOMI ALDERMAN Ravishing ... Combines the dark mythology of fantasy with the delicious social comedy of Jane Austen into a masterpiece that rivals Tolkien * TIME * Admirably inventive, frequently delightful -- MICHEL FABER Feels unduly classical and nostalgic and yet timeless at the very same time and it has, at the heart of it, that thing which every truly great novel needs: a brilliant story ... I adored this book * GUARDIAN * A triumph of imaginative storytelling * IRISH TIMES *