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Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
- Author
- Susanna Clarke
- Publisher
- Bloomsbury Publishing
- Publish Date
- 12 September 2024
- Run Time
- 36 hours 35 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
- Genre
- Fantasy, Historical fiction, Modern and contemporary fiction: literary and general, Historical fantasy, Fiction: literary and general non-genre
- Rating
- 4.6 (11 reviews)
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What to expect
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
Critics Review
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Clarke creates a world beyond our wildest imagination that also tells us something profound about what it is to be human
BERNARDINE EVARISTO
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This is a great huge long book that will change your life ... One of my all-time favourite books
ANN PATCHETT
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A modern masterpiece ... It is that rare beast, a cult novel that is also a mainstream smash hit and continues to beguile its legions of readers to the present day … An indelible, fascinating story, one to lose oneself in for days, even weeks
SPECTATOR
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What a world Susanna Clarke conjures into being
DAVID MITCHELL
See more reviews See fewer reviews
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A miraculous and luminous feat of storytelling
MADELINE MILLER
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Clarke’s imagination is prodigious, her pacing masterly
NEW YORK TIMES
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One of the greatest and most interesting writers of fantasy in the past hundred years or more
TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT
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Full of epic sweep and intimate human drama … An imaginative treat
DAILY TELEGRAPH
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Many books are to be read, and a few are meant to be lived in for weeks. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is of this last kind
WASHINGTON POST
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Purely joyful reading
NAOMI ALDERMAN
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Ravishing ... Combines the dark mythology of fantasy with the delicious social comedy of Jane Austen into a masterpiece that rivals Tolkien
TIME
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Admirably inventive, frequently delightful
MICHEL FABER
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Feels unduly classical and nostalgic and yet timeless at the very same time and it has, at the heart of it, that thing which every truly great novel needs: a brilliant story … I adored this book
GUARDIAN
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A triumph of imaginative storytelling
IRISH TIMES
User Reviews
Book 4.6
Narration 5.0
-
5.0 5.0
Have loved the book for years and instead of reading my physical copy, thought it would be a fun listen while I walk my dog and do chores.
Am so impressed with Armitage’s narration - he’s brilliant and (imo) has captured the perfect voice for Norrell and the cast of characters. Am just annoyed it took me so long to discover… but excited to find out what else he has narrated.taliej 2026-07-30 -
5.0 5.0
Clarke’s imagination is astonishing. I was fully submerged in the world she created.
Richard Armitage is excellent at bringing such a large number of very different characters to life. The footnotes have a different narrator, so the story runs smoothly with no room for confusion. Excellent.abigail26 2026-07-19 -
4.0 5.0
Have been wanting to read this for ages, so was glad to be able to listen .Took me a while to get into it, but once I did found it vary enjoyable
ring01 2024-12-19 -
4.0 5.0
Richard armitage strikes again! Such a good audiobook narrator!
marianne 2024-12-16
Details
- Author
- Susanna Clarke
- Narrator
- Neil Gaiman, Richard Armitage, V.E. Schwab
- Duration
- 36 hours 35 minutes
- Release Date
- 12 September 2024
- ISBN
- 9781526677181
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Bloomsbury Publishing
- Genre
- Fantasy, Historical fiction, Modern and contemporary fiction: literary and general, Historical fantasy, Fiction: literary and general non-genre
- Rating
- 4.6(11 reviews)
- Narration
- 5.0(11 reviews)
Synopsis
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 Rundell1806. 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
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