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I just happened to stumble upon Susanna Clarke's "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell", a book that nearly made me miss my home train station. I was saved by the fact that it is the end station and the train has 20 minutes before it travels back, but still... That event is rare enough to warrant a "book recommendation". ;)
I highly suggest making sure to grab an issue holding the delightful pencil sketches of Portia Rosenberg such as the Bloomsbury pocketbook (don't be fooled by "pocketbook" - the things till weighs a ton in the bag!) so in addition to reading in train (and accidentally making extra-journeys) I also perform daily fitness exercises. *g*
Okay, that might not be about the content...
This is: The book is about two exceptionally (as in they do have magical talent instead of merely teaching and preaching about it) magicians in the England of 1806 (hint: war with Napoleon). The style of the book conveys the atmosphere of the time without referring to the overly stilted dialogues found in Regency novels. Needless to say, it stars magicians (mischievious and otherwise), would-be-magicians, plagiarists, fairies, statues with issues, spells, and much more...
The year is 1806. England is beleaguered by the long war with Napoleon, and centuries have passed since practical magicians faded into the nation's past. But scholars of this glorious history discover that one remains: the reclusive Mr. Norrell, whose displays of magic send a thrill through the country. Proceeding to London, he raises a beautiful woman from the dead and summons an army of ghostly ships to terrify the French. Yet the cautious, fussy Norrell is challenged by the emergence of another magician: the brilliant novice Jonathan Strange. Young, handsome and daring, Strange is the very antithesis of Norell. So begins a dangerous battle between these two great men which overwhelms that between England and France. And their own obsessions and secret dabblings with the dark arts are going to cause more trouble than they can imagine.
[cover text by Bloomsdale: ISBN 0-7475-7988-1]
...unfortunately, it lacks an "I carry myself"-spell attached to it, but that is only a minor downturn so far. :)
I highly suggest making sure to grab an issue holding the delightful pencil sketches of Portia Rosenberg such as the Bloomsbury pocketbook (don't be fooled by "pocketbook" - the things till weighs a ton in the bag!) so in addition to reading in train (and accidentally making extra-journeys) I also perform daily fitness exercises. *g*
Okay, that might not be about the content...
This is: The book is about two exceptionally (as in they do have magical talent instead of merely teaching and preaching about it) magicians in the England of 1806 (hint: war with Napoleon). The style of the book conveys the atmosphere of the time without referring to the overly stilted dialogues found in Regency novels. Needless to say, it stars magicians (mischievious and otherwise), would-be-magicians, plagiarists, fairies, statues with issues, spells, and much more...
The year is 1806. England is beleaguered by the long war with Napoleon, and centuries have passed since practical magicians faded into the nation's past. But scholars of this glorious history discover that one remains: the reclusive Mr. Norrell, whose displays of magic send a thrill through the country. Proceeding to London, he raises a beautiful woman from the dead and summons an army of ghostly ships to terrify the French. Yet the cautious, fussy Norrell is challenged by the emergence of another magician: the brilliant novice Jonathan Strange. Young, handsome and daring, Strange is the very antithesis of Norell. So begins a dangerous battle between these two great men which overwhelms that between England and France. And their own obsessions and secret dabblings with the dark arts are going to cause more trouble than they can imagine.
[cover text by Bloomsdale: ISBN 0-7475-7988-1]
...unfortunately, it lacks an "I carry myself"-spell attached to it, but that is only a minor downturn so far. :)
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Date: 2005-11-08 17:42 (UTC)From: