Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

Two magicians bring magic back to England, and then can no longer keep it under control.

In Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Susanna Clarke takes you to a nineteenth-century England where magic has for centuries been nothing more than a subject of study. Until the reclusive Mr Norrell proves that he can truly practise it, and puts his skills to work in the war against France. He gains a pupil: the younger, more reckless Jonathan Strange, who would rather experiment than collect books. What starts as an uneasy partnership grows into a rivalry with consequences that reach far beyond the battlefield.

A big, wonderfully old-fashioned fantasy novel with the manners of a Jane Austen novel and the menace of an old fairy tale, complete with footnotes that tell a whole hidden history. Take your time with it; this is a book to live in for weeks. This English edition is the 20th anniversary edition from Bloomsbury, with illustrations by Portia Rosenberg.