'Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell' by Susanna Clarke

This weighty tome - coming in at just over 1000 pages is, needless to say, a bit of a slow burner. Unlike other recent tales of the fantastic, it does not rely on creating a new world or on political allegory to get its message across. It is instead set in a credible version of Napoleonic Britain, which has long since given up on its 'magicians' achieving anything useful against the threat across the English Channel.

That is until the arrival of Gilbert Norrell in London, a reclusive individual who believes that he is the only man with the right to practice magic on behalf of the British Government. When this unchallenged position is threatened by the appearance of a young man by the name of Jonathan Strange, Norrell, acting against his usual instincts, takes him on as an apprentice.

Strange proves to be a refreshing change to Norrell. He has a young wife and seems to fit in effortlessly with the graces of London Society. Eventually, he is invited to Spain to serve under the Duke of Wellington, where he succeeds in proving the value of his magic to an awkward and uncharitable commander.

It is at this point that the vast scope of the novel seems to catch up with it and, for around the last four hundred pages, it was exceptionally difficult to follow the journeys that these characters took. The body count rose with alarming rapidity as they were disposed of for reasons that did not seem well established.

Despite being well researched and having interesting elements to it, I could not help but feel that this novel would have benefitted greatly from fewer characters and a more stringent editor. Susanna Clarke is a talented writer but this was an exhausting read which left a slight sense of disappointment on its conclusion.

Well written but hard work.