Description

From the internationally bestselling and prize-winning author of Piranesi and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, an enchanting and haunting illustrated short story full of medieval magic

1110 A.D. The fairy host sweeps across the North of England and the city of Durham is under siege. Wearily the Bishop of Durham, Ranulf Flambard, prepares to surrender – something which proves far more difficult than he could have imagined.

His quest will lead him through a landscape of unco-operative rivers and enchanted forests to a New Castle on the banks of the River Tyne – where, with any luck, he will be received by a court of deceptive, would-be fairy queens, shape-shifting stags and a beautiful teenage Raven King.

A long-lost chapter in the lore of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, The Bishop of Durham Attempts to Surrender the City is an enchanting and enchanted adventure into the magic of medieval England.

Praise for Susanna Clarke:
‘Spellbinding’ Dua Lipa
‘A miraculous and luminous feat of storytelling’ Madeline Miller
‘Clarke writes with an intelligence and beauty that seems at times miraculous’ Katherine Rundell

Publisher Review

Praise for Susanna Clarke: 'Clarke creates a world beyond our wildest imagination that also tells us something profound about what it is to be human -- Bernardine Evaristo, Women's Prize Chair of Judges 2021 What a world Susanna Clarke conjures into being -- David Mitchell Spellbinding -- Dua Lipa A miraculous and luminous feat of storytelling -- Madeline Miller Like Hilary Mantel, Clarke has made the very notion of genre seem quaint * Guardian * One of the greatest and most interesting writers of fantasy in the past hundred years or more * Times Literary Supplement * Susanna Clarke writes with an intelligence and beauty that seems at times miraculous -- Katherine Rundell A treasure, washed up upon a forgotten shore, waiting to be discovered -- Erin Morgenstern Purely joyful reading -- Naomi Alderman Utterly compelling - bewildering, intense, moving, shocking, combining a haunting fantasy with sharp insight -- Rowan Williams