John Segundus, at a meeting of the Learned Society of York Magicians, asks why magic is not being practiced, which leads to an argument, and a visit to the reclusive Mr. ''A gentleman might study the history of magic (nothing could be nobler) but he could not do any.'' But by the autumn of 1806, when this tale begins, magic had not been practiced in England for ''rather more than 200 years.'' There are men who study magic (no women, in that age of repression), but only from books (many of which are cited in often funny footnotes). There are things to admire about ''Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell,'' but at 782 pages, there is just too much of it, for how little it ultimately delivers in terms of wisdom and amusement.Ĭlarke's book posits an imaginary England where magic is an accepted part of the nation's history. The novel has been called ''Harry Potter for adults.'' To her credit, Clarke has said she does not take such a claim seriously. Magazine and a flattering review in Time. The money was well spent several weeks before the book was released, Clarke was subject of a gushing interview in New York Times Rowling ink and paper for ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone,'' and made a lot of money doing so, has spent a large chunk of its fortune tub-thumping another first novel about magic, ''Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell,'' by Susanna Clarke.
John Orr reviews Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrellīloomsbury, the British publisher that first gave J.K.
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