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Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

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Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

By: Susanna Clarke
Narrated by: Neil Gaiman, Richard Armitage, V.E. Schwab
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About this listen

Bloomsbury presents Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke, read by Richard Armitage with Neil Gaiman and an introduction by V E Schwab.

The 20th anniversary edition of the fantasy classic.

‘The book I wish I'd written’ R F Kuang
‘Susanna Clarke writes with an intelligence and beauty that seems at times miraculous’ Katherine Rundell

1806. England is beleaguered by the long war, and centuries have passed since magicians faded from view. But one remains: the reclusive Mr Norrell. Proceeding to London, he raises a woman from the dead and summons an army of ghostly ships to terrify the French.

Yet the cautious Norrell is challenged by the emergence of another magician. Young, handsome and daring, Jonathan Strange is his very antithesis. So begins a dangerous battle between these two great men – which overwhelms that between England and France. And soon their own secret dabblings with the dark arts are going to cause more trouble than they can imagine…

'Like Hilary Mantel, Clarke has made the very notion of genre seem quaint' Guardian

©2024 Susanna Clarke (P)2024 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Fantasy Genre Fiction Historical Magical Realism Movie, TV & Video Game Tie-Ins Victorian England Funny Magic Users

Critic reviews

'Clarke creates a world beyond our wildest imagination that also tells us something profound about what it is to be human' (BERNARDINE EVARISTO)

'What a world Susanna Clarke conjures into being' (DAVID MITCHELL)

'A miraculous and luminous feat of storytelling' (MADELINE MILLER)

'Purely joyful reading' (NAOMI ALDERMAN)

'Admirably inventive, frequently delightful' (MICHEL FABER)
All stars
Most relevant
Written in 19th century style as natural as Austen or O’Brian and concerning matters reminiscent of Alan Garner, Charles de Lint, and Ursula Le Guin. Quite unique.

Very good and very strange

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The story is full of interesting twists and turns that I didn't see coming. The characters are well developed and complex; at different points I either loved them or hated them. And narrator managed to bring them all to life, characters sounded distinct from one another.

Interesting story and superb narration.

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I love this book. It is a masterpiece and I have enjoyed reading it several times. Listening to the audio version added a wonderful dimension to the story and Richard Armitage does an amazing job of bringing the characters to life.

A wonderful book and a brilliant reading

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This is one of my favourite books which I've re-read many times. I love the original audiobook which is wonderfully narrated by Simon Prebble but I was pleasantly surprised by Richard Armitage's very good performance. The one quibble I have is the footnotes narrated by Neil Gaiman. They are just added to the narration, without stating that they are footnotes. Gaiman's voice is also rather drab. Otherwise very good.

Miss the footnotes from the original

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Not my sort of thing I would say but it was a recommendation and I am so pleased I took notice. i was totally absorbed by the beautiful writing and wonderful performance. I will miss it.

Absorbing

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