Review: JONATHAN STRANGE AND MR NORRELL by Susanah Clarke

This book is set in the early 1800s, which offers Clarke two advantages, which she uses to great effect. First, it allows her to mimic the style of the time. That partly explains the book's length, and why parts of it read like Jane Austen.

The other is that it lets Clarke use the Napoleonic Wars as a background. They come to the foreground as a result of Strange's involvement in the Peninsular War, and both there and as a backdrop it works well.

The book is basically about the conflict between the careful, systematic, "scientific" Norrell, who wants to isolate and control magic, and the wilder, more traditional Strange. Around this antagonism is built a fascinating alternate history of England, and Clarke leaves a good bit untold.

This is a very well-written book, with enough action, character moments, and mystery to fill its prodigious page count. I recommend it.