Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell: a novel

This deserves a post of its own! This is a first novel! Unbelievably absorbing and wonderful. JS&MN is set in an England during the Napoleonic Wars where magic was once strong. Mr. Norrell's mission in life is to restore magic in Britain, but only under his strict control. Of course, life (and magic) being what it is, complications ensue. If Jane Austen wrote big, sprawling history books, this would have been published a few hundred years ago.

:-)

So much fantasy now written, no matter how wonderful, is based on Tolkien. Clarke bases her book on England's history, and the stories of Faery. Completely wonderful. Order it at your local bookstore, Amazon.com, or at the very least, the library. You owe it to yourself if you love good writing, historical novels, or fantasy -- and especially if you love all three. © 2004 Susanna Clarke. Bloomsbury Publishing, NY NY. ISBN 1-58234-416-7

While you wait, drive yourself crazy with Petals Around the Rose. Once you figure that out, try the Flash Mind Reader.


How little do they see what is, who frame their hasty judgments upon that which seems. - Robert Southey