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Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
- Narrated by: Simon Prebble
- Length: 32 hrs and 30 mins
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Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
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Summary
OVER 4 MILLION COPIES SOLD WORLDWIDE
Shortlisted for the Whitbread First Novel Award and the Guardian First Book Award; longlisted for the Man Booker Prize
‘Unquestionably the finest English novel of the fantastic written in the last seventy years ... Funny, moving, scary, otherworldly, practical and magical' NEIL GAIMAN
The year is 1806. 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 Norrell.
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.
Critic reviews
"Unquestionably the finest English novel of the fantastic written in the last seventy years...Funny, moving, scary, otherworldly, practical and magical." (Neil Gaiman)
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What listeners say about Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- newyorkhereicome
- 30-04-08
Wonderful!
I felt a bit lost when I finished this book - it had been part of my life for so long (I don't always get the chance to listen for too long at a time).
I thoroughly enjoyed it and would certainly recommend it to anyone considering it as their next download.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Ron
- 21-09-11
Truly Magical
This is by far the best audio book that I've listened to. The combination of an intricate yet gripping story with wonderfully executed narration makes it a total joy. It is easy to see that Simon Prebble's reputation as one of the world's best narrators is well founded - His range of character voices and the way that he manages to include the many footnotes without interrupting the narrative flow is sheer genius. I really can't recommend this book too highly!
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 06-05-20
endurance
While I enjoyed the story and the narrator, I was glad to finish it. It seemed to go on forever. I nearly gave up a couple of times as I was getting bored with it.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Charlie P
- 26-04-11
Pure magic!
Sussanna Clarke has an unusual style of writing that makes this book sound as if it was written and conceived in a fantastical and magical 17th Century England. You'll either love this style or hate it, hence the mix of reviews.
I loved pretty much everything about the book and the reading, it's at times scary, amusing, imaginative, and macabre, but always a very good listen.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- simon parsons-kilburn
- 26-01-16
Summary was better than the story
it seemed far too long and got a bit drawn out at times. the narrator voice got a bit too much near the end. definitely one I would have been more interested in the abridged version as had to force myself to keep going and not trade it back in exchange.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- James
- 11-10-06
Well worth the effort!!
This is quite possibly the LONGEST audio book I have ever listened to but, boy was it worth the effort! It really is an excellent book and very well written. The amount of detail the author puts in to describing the scene is astounding and really helps to paint a picture in your mind of whats going on. There were a couple of times during the first 15 or so hours of listening that I nearly wained and gave up as I was finding it hard to stay hooked, but the storyline is so diverse and intriguing that you just have to keep going. Once into the 3rd and 4th parts of the book it really gets going and I found myself finding it hard to switch it off as I was completely riveted. Overall a thoroughly satisfying and enjoyable book to listen to. Highly recommended.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Nigel
- 20-11-06
Fantastic!
If you like Harry Potter and the Philip Pullman books, you will love this story of magic for adults.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- John Ferguson
- 14-02-10
Magical
When i first started listening, I thought the pace was slow and the story seemed to be meandering. This is a long book and improves greatly as the story progresses. The narrator also improves. Good book with an unusual angle on this genre.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rosie
- 23-04-18
Fun and Original
I really enjoyed the originality of the story. The plot remained unpredictable to the end, the world was new and exciting, and the footnotes were utterly brilliant. Well worth a listen.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Martin
- 18-11-08
i
This was a very enjoyable listen, great characters all of which I got to feel I knew and wanted to know what would happen to each of them. Very well narrated too which is a big issue for something so long. It is epic in scale and comes across as very believable, even though it is about magicians. The book was easy and light and always left me looking forward to my next listen. I have read several reviews about the end being dissapointing and I was relieved that I personally did not feel that, dont let that put you off. I will be looking out for more from this author and the narrator.
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1 person found this helpful