Coming Soon: Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, the Miniseries
Posted on November 25, 2014 at 3:58 pm
Susanna Clarke’s novel Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell
The setting is historical, England in 1806, as the Napoleonic Wars are being fought on land and at sea. Most people believe that magic no longer exists, but two very different magicians know differently. Mr. Norrell is a scholarly and reserved man who becomes a celebrity overnight when he reveals his powers by making the statues in York Cathedral speak, and bringing back a young woman from the dead (though it is conditioned on her spending half of her time with the fairies). Jonathan Strange is young, handsome, intuitive, and daring. He becomes Norrell’s student, and they join forces to help England defeat France.
I was delighted to learn that the BBC is adapting the book into a miniseries we may see in the US as early as next year, starring Bertie Carvel (Les Misérables) and Eddie Marsan (The World’s End). Stay tuned for more information.
Yes ! I love Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell like crazy. Better than Harry Potter. (Read it 2 or 3 times. Just finished listening, book-on-tape.) And I’m an English teacher.
I know! I am so excited! (And I love English teachers — thanks so much for all you do.) If you like this book, I recommend Night Circus as well.
You know what ? I _did_ read the Night Circus, too. I liked it–but didn’t _love_ it as much. Actually wrote a little paper about it, trying to explain to myself: why not as much. You can definitely see the influence of S.C. on E.M. (E.M. admits it.)
I wish they would do a Night Circus movie, too, but…maybe too late. And: she should’ve written a sequel. Both of them ! (I’m a wanna-be writer, too–so I’ve given it a little thought.)
The Night Circus movie has been in the works for years. My fingers are crossed that they make it happen. I think this is one story that might be better as a movie. But I met her and she said no sequel.