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162-512: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is the debut novel by British writer Susanna Clarke . Published in 2004, it is an alternative history set in 19th-century England around the time of the Napoleonic Wars . Its premise is that magic once existed in England and has returned with two men: Gilbert Norrell and Jonathan Strange. Centred on the relationship between these two men, the novel investigates

324-456: A 20-city tour to promote the novel, after its near-simultaneous publication in 20 countries. Endorsements from independent booksellers helped the book sell out its first printing; by the end of September 2004, it had gone through eight printings. The novel met with "a crackle of favorable reviews in major papers". On Metacritic , the book received a 83 out of 100 based on 25 critic reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". According to Book Marks ,

486-497: A bandit, as his raids, expansion and threats to destabilise British authority suddenly increased in 1800. The death of Tipu Sultan had created a power vacuum and Waugh was seeking to fill it. Given independent command of a combined East India Company and British Army force, Wellesley ventured north to confront Waugh in June 1800, with an army of 8,000 infantry and cavalry, having learnt that Waugh's forces numbered over 50,000, although

648-507: A breach was opened in the main walls of the fortress of Seringapatam. An attack led by Major-General Baird secured the fortress. Wellesley secured the rear of the advance, posting guards at the breach and then stationed his regiment at the main palace. After hearing news of the death of the Tipu Sultan, Wellesley was the first at the scene to confirm his death, checking his pulse. Over the coming day, Wellesley grew increasingly concerned over

810-554: A considerable time, first with severe diarrhoea from the water and then with fever, followed by a serious skin infection caused by trichophyton . Wellesley was in charge of raising an Anglo-Indian expeditionary force in Trincomali in early 1801 for the capture of Batavia and Mauritius from the French. However, on the eve of its departure, orders arrived from England that it was to be sent to Egypt to co-operate with Sir Ralph Abercromby in

972-413: A corner of Faerie and stumbles upon a castle where he is challenged to a duel by its guardian; he declines the duel. Lascelles challenges the guardian himself, wishing to preserve English honour, and succeeds in killing him, but is magically entrapped into the position of the guardian himself. Meanwhile, Childermass eventually receives the message meant for him by Strange; he and Segundus use magic to break

1134-729: A critical summary saying, "Critics have billed Clarke’s first novel, "longlisted" for the Booker Prize, as the Harry Potter for adults (as if Harry didn’t appeal to us in the first place!). Critics agree that Jonathan Strange , which almost lives up to the hype, dredges up more magic and originality than Harry’s golden snitch". Globally, Complete Review on the review consensus "Not quite a consensus, but many enthralled". The New Republic hailed it as "an exceptional work", both "thoughtful and irrepressibly imaginative". The Houston Chronicle described Clarke as "a superb character writer", and

1296-426: A curious narrative strategy of continual deferral and delay." For example, Clarke mentions Jonathan Strange on the first page of the novel, but only in a footnote. He reappears in other footnotes throughout the opening but does not appear as a character in the text proper until a quarter of the way through the novel. In Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell , Clarke infuses her dry wit with prosaic quaintness. For example,

1458-419: A deal about which, due to an enchantment, she cannot speak coherently. Clarke explores the limits of "English" magic through the characters of Stephen Black and Vinculus. As Clarke explains, "If you put a fairy next to a person who is also outside English society ... suddenly the fact that there is this alien race seems more believable, because you've got another alien and the two of them can talk about

1620-488: A delicate softness for young ladies of a certain breeding, or tightened to convey the snarkiness often heard in the costive Norrell." Prebble interrupts the main text to read the footnotes, announcing them with the word footnote . According to the AudioFile review, the "narrative flow suffers" because of these interruptions and the reviewer recommends listening "with text in hand". Each note is on its own track, so listeners have

1782-436: A fair amount of time to work out some way to encapsulate that enormous book in a film of sensible length ... [b]ut it was lots of fun – and very unlike anything I have ever done before." At that time, no director or cast had yet been chosen. As of June 2006, Hampton was still working on the screenplay. Julian Fellowes then took over writing duties before the collapse of New Line Cinema. A seven-part adaptation of

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1944-689: A few weeks later set sail for Calcutta with his regiment. Arriving in Calcutta in February 1797 he spent 5 months there, before being sent in August to a brief expedition to the Philippines , where he established a list of new hygiene precautions for his men to deal with the unfamiliar climate. Returning in November to India , he learnt that his elder brother Richard , now known as Lord Mornington, had been appointed as

2106-461: A five-day fantasy and science-fiction writing workshop, co-taught by writers Colin Greenland and Geoff Ryman . The students were expected to prepare a short story before attending, but Clarke only had "bundles" of material for her novel. From this she extracted " The Ladies of Grace Adieu ", a story about three women secretly practising magic who are discovered by the famous Jonathan Strange. Greenland

2268-445: A forest that grows up in the canals of Venice, a countryside of bleak moors that can only be entered through mirrors, a phantom bell that makes people think of everything they have ever lost, a midnight darkness that follows an accursed man everywhere he goes". The setting reflects this tone, as "dark, fog, mist and wet give the book much of its creepy, northern atmosphere". According to Nisi Shawl in her review for The Seattle Times ,

2430-573: A known figure after his victories at the Nile and Copenhagen, who was briefly in England after months pursuing the French Toulon fleet to the West Indies and back. Some 30 years later, Wellington recalled a conversation that Nelson began with him which Wellesley found "almost all on his side in a style so vain and silly as to surprise and almost disgust me". Nelson left the room to inquire who the young general

2592-544: A magical renaissance, reopening roads to Faerie, and causing many to spontaneously perform magic, but Norrell fails to grasp its significance. Drawlight attempts to deliver the messages but is intercepted by Lascelles, who murders him, because if Norrell learnt the truth it would damage Lascelles's control over Norrell. Strange, bringing the Impenetrable Darkness with him, asks Norrell to help him undo Arabella's enchantment by summoning John Uskglass. Childermass explores

2754-577: A magician by making the statues in York Cathedral speak, thereafter compelling the society to disband. John Childermass, Mr Norrell's factotum , convinces a member of the group, John Segundus, to write about the event for the London newspapers. Segundus's article generates interest in Mr Norrell, who moves to London to revive practical English magic. He enters society with the help of two gentlemen about town,

2916-551: A military career in earnest. He became a major by purchase in the 33rd Regiment in 1793. A few months later, in September, his brother lent him more money and with it he purchased a lieutenant-colonelcy in the 33rd. In 1793, the Duke of York was sent to Flanders in command of the British contingent of an allied force destined for the invasion of France. In June 1794, Wellesley with

3078-444: A mirror given to her by Strange. Drawlight is sent by Lascelles and Norrell to Venice to find out more about Strange's activities and on his arrival he is magically brought before Strange. Strange instructs him to deliver messages to Norrell, Childermass, and the magical community within England before dismissing him. Strange then re-invokes the old alliances that exist in England between the forces of nature and John Uskglass. This sparks

3240-517: A place rather like Venice, talking to some English tourists. And I felt strongly that he had some sort of magical background – he'd been dabbling in magic, and something had gone badly wrong." She had also recently re-read J. R. R. Tolkien 's The Lord of the Rings and afterwards was inspired to "trying writing a novel of magic and fantasy". After she returned from Spain in 1993, Clarke began to think seriously about writing her novel. She signed up for

3402-742: A popular couple in London. Lady Pole and Strange's wife, Arabella, become friends; during a visit, Arabella meets the Gentleman with the Thistledown Hair, whom she assumes is a relative of the Poles. The Cabinet ministers find Strange easier to deal with than Norrell, so they send him to assist the Duke of Wellington on his Peninsular Campaign . For over a year, Strange helps the army: he creates roads, moves towns, and makes dead men speak. After he returns, he fails to cure George III 's madness, but manages to save him from

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3564-469: A reputation than from first-time writers. For this reason, literary communities have created awards that help acknowledge exceptional debut novels. In contemporary British and American publishing markets, most authors receive only a small monetary advance before publication of their debut novel; in the rare exceptions when a large print run and high volume of sales are anticipated, the advance can be larger. For an example of an unusually high advance: in 2013,

3726-497: A retreat, so Wellesley decided to launch an attack immediately. On 23 September, Wellesley led his forces over a ford in the river Kaitna and the Battle of Assaye commenced. After crossing the ford the infantry was reorganised into several lines and advanced against the Maratha infantry. Wellesley ordered his cavalry to exploit the flank of the Maratha army just near the village. During

3888-597: A reward for his service in India he was made a Knight of the Bath in September. While in India, Wellesley had amassed a fortune of £42,000 (considerable at the time, equivalent to £4 million in 2023), consisting mainly of prize money from his campaign. When his brother's term as Governor-General of India ended in March 1805, the brothers returned together to England on HMS  Howe . Wellesley, coincidentally, stopped on his voyage at

4050-486: A topic of discussion, with Clarke declaring that said narrator is female and omniscient rather than a future scholar from within the real storyline as some had suggested. Clarke's style extends to the novel's 185 footnotes, which document a meticulous invented history of English magic. At times, the footnotes dominate entire pages of the novel. Michael Dirda, in his review for The Washington Post , describes these notes as "dazzling feats of imaginative scholarship", in which

4212-424: Is "a long way off": I think it may be a feature with chronic fatigue that you become incapable of making decisions. I found it impossible to decide between one version of a sentence and another version, but also between having the plot go in this direction and having it go in that direction. Everything became like uncontained bushes, shooting out in all directions. That's the state that the sequel to Jonathan Strange

4374-408: Is arrested. Norrell strongly wishes for him to be hanged for magic-related crimes, but has insufficient political influence. Lascelles becomes closer to Norrell, challenging the relationship between Childermass and his master. Frustrated with being Norrell's pupil, Strange pens a scathing review of a book outlining Norrell's theories on modern magic; in particular, Strange challenges Norrell's views of

4536-448: Is disappointed with the "soft and wooden" illustrations provided by Rosenberg. Reviewers variously describe Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell as a fantasy novel, an alternative history , a historical fiction , or as a combination of these styles. Clarke herself says, "I think the novel is viewed as something new ... blending together a few genres – such as fantasy and adventure and pastiche historical – plus there's

4698-486: Is imbued with realism . He argues that the footnotes in particular lend an air of credibility to the narrative: for example, they describe a fictional biography of Jonathan Strange and list where particular paintings in Norrell's house are located. In an interview, Clarke describes how she creates this realist fantasy: "One way of grounding the magic is by putting in lots of stuff about street lamps, carriages and how difficult it

4860-582: Is in. It's almost like a forest now. Debut novel Sometimes new novelists will self-publish their debut novels, because publishing houses will not risk the capital needed to market books by an unknown author to the public. Most publishers purchase rights to novels, especially debut novels, through literary agents , who screen client work before sending it to publishers. These hurdles to publishing reflect both publishers' limits in resources for reviewing and publishing unknown works, and that readers typically buy more books from established authors with

5022-437: Is not about the fight between good and evil but rather the differences between madness and reason—and it is the fairy world that is connected to madness (mad people can see fairies, for example). Lady Pole, who is taken away into the fairyland of Lost-Hope every night, appears insane to those around her. She is hidden away, like the character type examined by Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar in their seminal book The Madwoman in

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5184-761: Is not known, but biographers mostly follow the same contemporary newspaper evidence, which states that he was born on 1 May 1769, the day before he was baptised in St. Peter's Church on Aungier Street in Dublin. However, Ernest Lloyd states "registry of St. Peter's Church, Dublin, shows that he was christened there on 30 April 1769". His baptismal font was donated to St. Nahi's Church in Dundrum, Dublin , in 1914. Wellesley may have been born at his parents' townhouse, Mornington House at 6 Merrion Street (the address later became known as 24 Upper Merrion Street), Dublin, which now forms part of

5346-465: Is particularly strong in the "domestic scenes, set in living rooms and drawing rooms where people mostly chat about magic" where Dickens's is prominent "any time there's more action or description". While many reviewers compare Clarke's style to that of Austen, Gregory Feeley argues in his review for The Weekly Standard that "the points of resemblance are mostly superficial". He writes that "Austen gets down to business briskly, while Clarke engages in

5508-454: Is regarded as one of the greatest commanders in the modern era , and many of his tactics and battle plans are still studied in military academies around the world. After the end of his active military career, Wellington returned to politics. He was twice British prime minister as a member of the Tory party from 1828 to 1830 and for a little less than a month in 1834. Wellington oversaw the passage of

5670-662: Is sent to the countryside and cared for by John Segundus, who has an inkling of the magic surrounding her. During travels in the north, Black meets Vinculus, who recites his prophecy: "the nameless slave shall be a king in a strange country ..." Stephen believes it applies to him, but the Gentleman with the Thistledown Hair argues that it applies to the Raven King. Strange travels to Venice and meets Flora Greysteel there. They become fond of each other and Strange's friends believe he may marry again. However, after experimenting with dangerous magic that threatens his sanity to gain access to

5832-505: Is so wonderful about magicians, wizards and all witches other than Morgan le Fay is not just their magical powers, but that they possess these in spite of being low-born. Far from caring about being gentlemen, wizards are the ultimate expression of rank's irrelevance to talent". However, reviewers were not in universal agreement on any of these points. Maguire wrote in the New York Times : What keeps this densely realised confection aloft

5994-478: Is that very quality of reverence to the writers of the past. The chief character in Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell isn't, in fact, either of the magicians: it's the library that they both adore, the books they consult and write and, in a sense, become. Clarke's giddiness comes from finding a way at once to enter the company of her literary heroes, to pay them homage and to add to the literature. While promoting

6156-412: Is the contention of Mr Norrell of Hanover-square that everything belonging to John Uskglass must be shaken out of modern magic, as one would shake moths and dust out of an old coat. What does he imagine he will have left? If you get rid of John Uskglass you will be left holding the empty air. In 1816, Lady Pole attempts to shoot Mr Norrell. Childermass takes the bullet himself, but is not killed. Lady Pole

6318-533: Is to get good servants." To create this effect, the novel includes many references to real early-nineteenth century people and things, such as: artists Francisco Goya , Cruikshank, and Rowlandson; writers Frances Burney , William Beckford , "Monk" Lewis , Lord Byron , and Ann Radcliffe ; Maria Edgeworth 's Belinda and Austen's Emma ; publisher John Murray ; politicians Lord Castlereagh and George Canning ; The Gentleman's Magazine and The Edinburgh Review ; Chippendale and Wedgwood furnishings; and

6480-487: Is what ultimately resolves the plot. When Strange and Norrell summon 'the nameless slave', the Raven King's powerful alliances with nature are transferred to Stephen Black, allowing Stephen to kill the Gentleman and free himself from slavery." In the end, it is Strange and Norrell who are trapped in everlasting darkness while the silenced women, people of colour, and poor whites defeat the antagonist . To promote Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell , Bloomsbury—who also published

6642-535: The Denver Post called her a "superb storyteller". The reviews praised Clarke's "deft" handling of the pastiche of styles, but many criticised the novel's pace, The Guardian complaining that "the plot creaks frightfully in many places and the pace dawdles". In his review for Science Fiction Weekly , Clute suggested that "almost every scene in the first 300 pages should have been carefully and delicately trimmed " (emphasis in original) since they do little to advance

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6804-610: The Oxford English Dictionary , the earliest attested usage of "first novel" is from 1876. However, the term is much older, with instances going back to at least 1800. The Oxford English Dictionary does not have an entry for "debut novel". The earliest usage of "debut novel" in the Google Books database is 1930 (as of 2011 ). The term appears in newspapers as early as 1922, in a review of Marjorie L.C. Pickthall 's novel The Bridge . The Google Books Ngram Viewer shows

6966-702: The Battle of Assaye in 1803. Rising to prominence as a general officer during the Peninsular War , Wellesley was promoted to the rank of field marshal after leading British-led forces to victory against the French at the Battle of Vitoria in 1813. Following Napoleon's first exile in 1814, he served as the British ambassador to France and was made Duke of Wellington . During the Hundred Days campaign in 1815, Wellington commanded another British-led army which, together with

7128-448: The Duke of Rutland (then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland ) to consider Arthur for a commission in the Army. Soon afterward, on 7 March 1787, he was gazetted ensign in the 73rd Regiment of Foot . In October, with the assistance of his brother, he was assigned as aide-de-camp , on ten shillings a day (twice his pay as an ensign), to the new Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord Buckingham . He

7290-543: The East India Company having pursued and destroyed his forces once already, forcing him into retreat in August 1799, he raised a sizeable force composed of disbanded Mysore soldiers, captured small outposts and forts in Mysore, and was receiving the support of several Maratha killedars opposed to British occupation. This drew the attention of the British administration, who were beginning to recognise him as more than just

7452-678: The Faerie kingdom, he discovers that Arabella is alive and being held captive alongside Lady Pole in Lost-Hope; he realizes the bargain Norrell struck with the fairy. The Gentleman with the Thistledown Hair curses Strange with an Impenetrable Darkness , a pillar of darkness that engulfs him and follows him wherever he goes. Thereafter, Strange's strenuous efforts to rescue Arabella take their toll: his letters to his friends appear crazed and so his public reputation suffers. At Strange's request, Flora moves with her family to Padua and secludes herself, along with

7614-549: The Harry Potter series, Annie Linskey contends in The Baltimore Sun that "the allusion is misleading": unlike J. K. Rowling 's novels, Clarke's is morally ambiguous, with its complex plot and dark characters. Reviewers focus most frequently on the dynamic between Norrell and Strange, arguing that the novel is about their relationship. In her review for the Times Literary Supplement , Roz Kaveney writes that

7776-528: The Merrion Hotel . His mother, Anne, Countess of Mornington, recalled in 1815 that he had been born at 6 Merrion Street . His family's home at Dangan Castle , Dangan near Summerhill , County Meath has also been purported to have been his birthplace. In his obituary, published in The Times in 1852, it was reported that Dangan was unanimously believed to have been the place of his birth, though suggested it

7938-658: The Peninsular War . These included a strong sense of discipline through drill and order, the use of diplomacy to gain allies, and the vital necessity of a secure supply line. He also established high regard for the acquisition of intelligence through scouts and spies. His personal tastes also developed, including dressing himself in white trousers, a dark tunic, with Hessian boots and black cocked hat (that later became synonymous as his style). Wellesley had grown tired of his time in India, remarking "I have served as long in India as any man ought who can serve anywhere else". In June 1804 he applied for permission to return home and as

8100-516: The Prussian Army under Field Marshal Gebhard von Blücher , defeated Napoleon at Waterloo. Wellington's battle record is exemplary; he ultimately participated in some 60 battles during the course of his military career, and although not undefeated, he "never lost" a major engagement. Wellington is famous for his adaptive defensive style of warfare, resulting in several victories against numerically superior forces while minimising his own losses. He

8262-683: The Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 , while he opposed the Reform Act 1832 . He continued to be one of the leading figures in the House of Lords until his retirement and remained Commander-in-Chief of the Forces until his death . Wellesley was born into an aristocratic Anglo-Irish family, belonging to the Protestant Ascendancy , beginning life as The Hon. Arthur Wesley. Wellesley was born

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8424-571: The comedy of manners , the Gothic tale , and the Byronic hero . The novel's language is a pastiche of 19th-century writing styles, such as those of Jane Austen and Charles Dickens . Clarke describes the supernatural with careful detail. She supplements the text with almost 200 footnotes, outlining the backstory and an entire fictional corpus of magical scholarship. Clarke began writing Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell in 1992; ten years later she submitted

8586-514: The rotten borough of Trim to speak against the granting of the title " Freeman " of Dublin to the parliamentary leader of the Irish Patriot Party , Henry Grattan . Succeeding, he was later nominated and duly elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Trim in the Irish House of Commons . Because of the limited suffrage at the time, he sat in a parliament where at least two-thirds of

8748-830: The "nameless slave". However, instead the power is vested in Black, who uses his momentary control of all of English magic to destroy the Gentleman with the Thistledown Hair. Then, leaving England forever by one of the Faerie roads, Black sheds his name and becomes the new king of the now-blossoming kingdom of Lost-Hope. Childermass discovers Vinculus's body and notes that it is tattooed with the last work of John Uskglass. A man appears; he calls Childermass his servant, though Childermass does not recognize him, then brings Vinculus back to life and performs other feats of magic with ease. The mysterious man, heavily implied to be John Uskglass himself, then disappears, removing Childermass's and Vinculus's memories of

8910-547: The 33rd regiment set sail from Cork bound for Ostend as part of an expedition bringing reinforcements for the army in Flanders. They arrived too late to participate, and joined the Duke of York as he was pulling back towards the Netherlands. On 15 September 1794, at the Battle of Boxtel , east of Breda , Wellington, in temporary command of his brigade, had his first experience of battle. During General Abercromby's withdrawal in

9072-539: The 33rd sailed to join them in August. After extensive and careful logistic preparation (which would become one of Wellesley's main attributes) the 33rd left with the main force in December and travelled across 250 miles (402 km) of jungle from Madras to Mysore. On account of his brother, during the journey, Wellesley was given an additional command, that of chief advisor to the Nizam of Hyderabad 's army (sent to accompany

9234-502: The Attic (1979). Developing a "divided consciousness", she is passive and quiet at home, but at the same time is vengeful and murderous in the fairy land. Clarke's book is identified as distinctively English not only because of its style but also because of its themes of "vigorous common sense", "firm ethical fiber", "serene reason and self-confidence", which are drawn from its Augustan literary roots. The "muddy, bloody, instinctual spirit of

9396-463: The British advance. On 10 September, at the Battle of Conaghul , Wellesley personally led a charge of 1,400 British dragoons and Indian cavalry, in single line with no reserve, against Dhoondiah and his remaining 5,000 cavalry. Dhoondiah was killed during the clash; his body was discovered and taken to the British camp tied to a cannon. With this victory, Wellesley's campaign was concluded, and British authority had been restored. Wellesley then paid for

9558-400: The British force). This position was to cause friction among many of the senior officers (some of whom were senior to Wellesley). Much of this friction was put to rest after the Battle of Mallavelly , some 20 miles (32 km) from Seringapatam, in which Harris' army attacked a large part of the sultan's army. During the battle, Wellesley led his men, in a line of battle of two ranks, against

9720-481: The Duke of Wellington, evoke Dickens' caricatures. Laura Miller, in her review for Salon , suggests that the novel is "about a certain literary voice , the eminently civilized voice of early 19th-century social comedy", exemplified by the works of Austen. The novel uses obsolete spellings— chuse for choose and shewed for showed , for example—to convey this voice as well as the free indirect speech made famous by Austen. Clarke herself notes that Austen's influence

9882-662: The English in this very natural way." The gentleman with the thistle-down hair idealizes Stephen as a noble savage and enslaves him by taking him to the Lost-Hope—like Lady Pole, Stephen is silenced. Both "suffer under a silencing spell that mimics gaps in the historical record". Furthermore, the gentleman's desire to acquire Stephen for his dancing hall is reminiscent of the objectification of black slaves in European society. Stephen vows to eternally hate all white men after he hears

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10044-475: The English tales of wee folk from those of Scotland and Ireland." In these medieval English stories, the fairies are depicted as "capricious, inconsistent in their attitude toward humankind, [and] finally unknowable", characteristics which Clarke integrates into her own fairies. Clarke notes in an interview that she drew the idea of unpredictable, amoral fairies from the works of Neil Gaiman . In an interview with Locus , Clarke explains why and how she integrated

10206-478: The Faerie kingdom of Lost-Hope, where they dance all night long; their attempts to communicate their situation are confounded by magic, with their speech rendered into nonsense. "Can a magician kill a man by magic?" Lord Wellington asked Strange. Strange frowned. He seemed to dislike the question. "I suppose a magician might," he admitted, "but a gentleman never could." In 1809, Strange learns of Mr Norrell and travels to London to meet him. They immediately clash over

10368-542: The French Royal Academy of Equitation in Angers , where he progressed significantly, becoming a good horseman and learning French, which later proved very useful. Upon returning to England later the same year, he astonished his mother with his improvement. Despite his new promise, Wellesley had yet to find a job and his family was still short of money, so upon the advice of his mother, his brother Richard asked his friend

10530-489: The Gentleman with the Thistledown Hair, who is determined to make Black the king in his place. On Napoleon 's escape from Elba and return to power, Strange goes back to the assistance of Wellington helping defeat Napoleon and the French at the horrific Battle of Waterloo . Upon returning to England, Strange finds that Drawlight has been stealing money from English citizens with prospects of fulfilling their wishes through Strange's magic. Drawlight's schemes are publicized and he

10692-612: The Harry Potter series—launched what The Observer called "one of the biggest marketing campaigns in publishing history". Their campaign included plans for newspaper serialisations, book deliveries by horse and carriage, and the placement of "themed teasers", such as period stationery and mock newspapers, in United States coffeeshops. 7,500 advance readers' copies were sent out, a limited number wrapped in paper and sealed with wax. These sold for more than US$ 100 each on eBay in England in

10854-628: The Learned Society of York Magicians that their contract is void, and they can study magic again. He shows the now-restored Vinculus as proof that John Uskglass's Book of Magic remains, tattooed upon his body. Two months later, Strange has a conversation with Arabella, who is still living in Padua. He explains that he and Norrell are studying magic together and intend to learn to remove the Darkness they are both trapped in, but will adventure into other worlds in

11016-474: The Napoleonic wars; and they share a dry, melancholy wit and unconventional narrative shape." Shulman sees fantasy and historical fiction as similar because both must follow rigid rules or risk a breakdown of the narrative. As well as literary styles, Clarke pastiches many Romantic literary genres: the comedy of manners , the Gothic tale , the silver-fork novel , the military adventure, the Byronic hero , and

11178-541: The Philosopher's Stone , only receive small initial print runs. Debut novels that do well will be reprinted as sales increase due to word of mouth popularity of the novels—publishers do not often run large marketing campaigns for debut novelists. There are numerous literary prizes for debut novels often associated with genre or nationality. These prizes are in recognition of the difficulties faced by debut novelists and bring attention to deserving works and authors. Some of

11340-700: The Pickwick Club (1837), all of which lack the complexity or stylistic characteristics which audiences praise in the authors' later work. There are however some debut novels that are regarded as the author's masterpiece , for example Gustave Flaubert 's Madame Bovary , Joseph Heller 's Catch 22 , Günter Grass ' The Tin Drum and Chinua Achebe 's Things Fall Apart . Sometimes, instead of writing novels to begin their career, some authors will start with short stories , which can be easier to publish and allow authors to get started in writing fiction. According to

11502-461: The Raven King. The English public splits into "Norrellites" and "Strangites". Norrell confides to Strange that he wasted years attempting to summon the Raven King, but Strange disagrees that the effort is futile; the two agree to part company, although not without regret. Strange returns home and works on his own book, The History and Practice of English Magic . Arabella goes missing, then suddenly reappears, sick and weak. Three days later she dies. It

11664-618: The Thursday; which some people thought too much excitement for one week." As Michel Faber explains in his review for The Guardian , "here we have all the defining features of Clarke's style simultaneously: the archly Austenesque tone, the somewhat overdone quaintness ('upon the Tuesday'), the winningly matter-of-fact use of the supernatural, and drollness to spare." Gregory Maguire notes in The New York Times that Clarke even gently ridicules

11826-842: The United Kingdom . He is among the commanders who ended the Anglo-Mysore Wars when Tipu Sultan was killed in the fourth war in 1799 and among those who ended the Napoleonic Wars in a victory when the Seventh Coalition defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Wellesley was born into a Protestant Ascendancy family in Ireland . He was commissioned as an ensign in the British Army in 1787, serving in Ireland as aide-de-camp to two successive lords lieutenant of Ireland . He

11988-517: The affair affected Wellesley. He resolved "never to attack an enemy who is preparing and strongly posted, and whose posts have not been reconnoitred by daylight". Lewin Bentham Bowring gives this alternative account: One of these groves, called the Sultanpet Tope, was intersected by deep ditches, watered from a channel running in an easterly direction about a mile from the fort. General Baird

12150-491: The anonymous narrator "provides elaborate mini-essays, relating anecdotes from the lives of semi-legendary magicians, describing strange books and their contents, speculating upon the early years and later fate of the Raven King". This extensive extra-textual apparatus is reminiscent of postmodernist works, such as David Foster Wallace 's Infinite Jest (1996) and Thomas Pynchon 's Mason & Dixon (1997), particularly as Clarke's notes humorously refer to previous notes in

12312-531: The author gains a literary reputation. There are exceptions, however; YouTuber Zoella published her debut novel Girl Online in November 2014, and the book sold 78,109 copies in Britain in its first week. The novel saw huge sales because she already had an established audience, and publishers were willing to run a large print run. By comparison, bestselling Fifty Shades of Grey sold 14,814 copies in its first week, or later popular novels, like Harry Potter and

12474-471: The author's typical literary characteristics . Huffington Post ' s Dave Astor attributes these to two forces: first that authors are still learning their own unique style and audiences are more willing to read works from unknown authors if they resemble more conventional styles of literature. As examples, Astor points to J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit (1937), Margaret Atwood's The Edible Woman (1969) and Charles Dickens' The Posthumous Papers of

12636-457: The battle Wellesley himself came under fire; two of his horses were shot from under him and he had to mount a third. At a crucial moment, Wellesley regrouped his forces and ordered Colonel Maxwell (later killed in the attack) to attack the eastern end of the Maratha position while Wellesley himself directed a renewed infantry attack against the centre. An officer in the attack wrote of the importance of Wellesley's personal leadership: "The General

12798-507: The beginning, [the novel] would lack depth, and I would just be skimming the surface of what I could do. But if I had known it was going to take me ten years, I would never have begun. I was buoyed up by thinking that I would finish it next year, or the year after next." Clarke and Greenland moved in together while she was writing the novel. Greenland did not read the novel until it was published. Around 2001, Clarke "had begun to despair", and started looking for someone to help her finish and sell

12960-599: The book by the BBC began broadcast on BBC One on Sunday 17 May 2015. The book was adapted by Peter Harness , directed by Toby Haynes , starring Bertie Carvel and Eddie Marsan as the titular magicians, in a production by Cuba Pictures and Feel Films. A number of co-producers joined the project, including BBC America , Screen Yorkshire , Space and Far Moor, and it is to be distributed by Endemol Shine Group and Acorn Media . Pre-production began in April 2013, with filming later in

13122-542: The book had been slowed by her ill health. In 2006 it was reported that she suffered from chronic fatigue syndrome , although she has since received a wide assortment of diagnoses. In promotional interviews for her second novel, Piranesi , she commented that her illness would have made the effort required to research and write another book of the same scope "insurmountable" even when partially recovered, and that she had instead devoted her time to an older, "much more feasible" idea, which became Piranesi . The sequel, she said,

13284-459: The book received "positive" reviews based on 12 critic reviews with 5 being "rave" and 2 being "positive" and 4 being "mixed" and 1 being "pan". The BookScore gave it an aggregated critic score of 8.1 based on an accumulation of British and American press reviews. On November/December 2004 issue of Bookmarks , the book received a [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] (4.0 out of 5) based on critic reviews with

13446-636: The book won the World Fantasy Award for best anthology in 1997. Clarke spent the next ten years working on the novel in her spare time, while editing cookbooks full-time for Simon & Schuster in Cambridge . She also published stories in Starlight 2 and Starlight 3 ; according to the New York Times Magazine , her work was known and appreciated by a small group of fantasy fans and critics on

13608-428: The book. Giles Gordon became her agent and sold the unfinished manuscript to Bloomsbury in early 2003, after two publishers rejected it as unmarketable. Bloomsbury were so sure the novel would be a success that they offered Clarke a £1 million advance. They printed 250,000 hardcover copies simultaneously in the United States, Britain, and Germany. Seventeen translations were begun before the first English publication

13770-455: The circumstances of the death of his enslaved mother, but when the thistle-down haired gentleman kills the white Vinculus in front of Stephen, he weeps. Both Strange and Norrell see the essence of Englishness in the Raven King, a character who was raised by fairies and could not speak English. As Elizabeth Hoiem explains, "The most English of all Englishmen, then, is both king and slave, in many ways indistinguishable from Stephen Black. This paradox

13932-449: The corruption of the innocent". The New Statesman reviewer, Amanda Craig , praised the novel as "a tale of magic such as might have been written by the young Jane Austen – or, perhaps, by the young Mrs Radcliffe , whose Gothic imagination and exuberant delicacy of style set the key." However, she also criticised the book: "As fantasy, it is deplorable, given that it fails to embrace the essentially anarchic nature of such tales. What

14094-575: The cost of only 361 British casualties. A further successful attack at the fortress at Gawilghur , combined with the victory of General Lake at Delhi , forced the Maratha to sign a peace settlement at Anjangaon (not concluded until a year later) called the Treaty of Surji-Anjangaon . Military historian Richard Holmes remarked that Wellesley's experiences in India had an important influence on his personality and military tactics, teaching him much about military matters that would prove vital to his success in

14256-509: The damp environment. Though the campaign was to end disastrously, with the British army driven out of the United Provinces into the German states, Wellesley became more aware of battle tactics, including the use of lines of infantry against advancing columns, and the merits of supporting sea-power. He understood that the failure of the campaign was due in part to the faults of the leaders and

14418-405: The daughter of Edward Pakenham, 2nd Baron Longford . She was described as being full of 'gaiety and charm'. In 1793, he proposed, but was turned down by her brother Thomas , 2nd Earl of Longford , who considered Wellesley to be a young man, in debt, with very poor prospects. An aspiring amateur musician, Wellesley, devastated by the rejection, burnt his violins in anger, and resolved to pursue

14580-412: The deal "one of the biggest acquisitions of film rights for a book in recent years". New Line chose Christopher Hampton , whose adaptation of Dangerous Liaisons won an Academy Award , to write it; New Line executives Mark Ordesky and Ileen Maisel were overseeing the production. On 7 November 2005, The Daily Telegraph reported that Hampton had finished the first draft: "As you can imagine, it took

14742-441: The early nineteenth century. She also explores the "silencing" of under-represented groups: women, people of colour, and poor whites. Both Strange and Norrell suppress the voices of these groups in their rise to power. Mr Norrell, for example, attempts to buy up all the books of magic in England to keep anyone else from acquiring their knowledge. He also barters away half of Emma Wintertowne's (Lady Pole's) life for political influence,

14904-459: The enchantment over Lady Pole. Enraged by this, the Gentleman with the Thistledown Hair determines to place a second deadly curse on Lady Pole, as Faerie tradition demands. En route, the Gentleman hangs and kills Vinculus after they encounter him, with Black forced to watch. During these events, Norrell and Strange attempt a spell that would cause the natural forces of England to pay homage to John Uskglass. Not knowing his true name, they dedicate it to

15066-447: The encounter. As a result of the imprecision of the fairy's curse, which was placed on "the English magician", Norrell and his library are trapped along with Strange within the Impenetrable Darkness, and they cannot move more than a certain distance from each other. Upon the Gentleman with the Thistledown Hair's death, Arabella comes through the mirror in Padua, where Flora is waiting for her upon instruction of Strange. Childermass informs

15228-419: The enemy to a gentle ridge and gave the order to fire. After an extensive repetition of volleys, followed by a bayonet charge, the 33rd, in conjunction with the rest of Harris's force, forced Tipu's infantry to retreat. Immediately after their arrival at Seringapatam on 5 April 1799, the Battle of Seringapatam began and Wellesley was ordered to lead a night attack on the village of Sultanpettah, adjacent to

15390-518: The excitement of finding authors and writers without established legacies. In the same piece for the Times , Ayana Mathis describes the debut novel as "a piece of the writer's soul in a way that subsequent books can't ever be", because the novel is necessarily a work of passion and a product of all of their life before that moment. Often an author's first novel will not be as complex stylistically or thematically as subsequent works and often will not feature

15552-500: The expulsion of the French from Egypt . Wellesley had been appointed second in command to Baird, but owing to ill health did not accompany the expedition on 9 April 1801. This was fortunate for Wellesley, since the vessel on which he was to have sailed sank in the Red Sea. He was promoted to brigadier-general on 17 July 1801. He took residence within the Sultan's summer palace and reformed

15714-456: The face of superior French forces, the 33rd held off enemy cavalry, allowing neighbouring units to retreat safely. During the extremely harsh winter that followed, Wellesley and his regiment formed part of an allied force holding the defence line along the Waal River . The 33rd, along with the rest of the army, suffered heavy losses from attrition and illness. Wellesley's health was also affected by

15876-427: The fairies" is equally a part of its Englishness, along with "arrogance, provincialism and class prejudice". The fairy tradition that Clarke draws on is particularly English; she alludes to tales from children's literature and others which date back to the medieval period. As Feeley notes, "The idea of fairies forming a hidden supernatural aristocracy certainly predates Spenser and Shakespeare , and seems to distinguish

16038-487: The fairy. After news spreads of Emma's resurrection and happy marriage to Sir Walter, magic becomes respected, and the government seeks Norrell's aid in their ongoing war against Napoleon . While living in London, Norrell encounters Vinculus, a disreputable street-magician vagabond, who relates a prophecy about a "nameless slave" and two magicians in England, but Norrell dismisses it and has Vinculus banished. While travelling, Vinculus later meets Jonathan Strange and recites

16200-463: The fortress to clear the way for the artillery. Because of a variety of factors including the Mysorean army's strong defensive preparations and the darkness the attack failed with 25 casualties due to confusion among the British. Wellesley suffered a minor injury to his knee from a spent musket-ball. Although they would re-attack successfully the next day, after time to scout ahead the enemy's positions,

16362-522: The future upkeep of Dhoondiah's orphaned son. In September 1802, Wellesley learnt that he had been promoted to the rank of major-general . He had been gazetted on 29 April 1802, but the news took several months to reach him by sea. He remained at Mysore until November when he was sent to command an army in the Second Anglo-Maratha War . When he determined that a long defensive war would ruin his army, Wellesley decided to act boldly to defeat

16524-443: The genre of the novel itself: "[A gentleman] picks up a book and begins to read ... but he is not attending to what he reads and he has got to Page 22 before he discovers it is a novel  – the sort of work which above all others he most despises – and he puts it down in disgust." Elsewhere, the narrator remarks, "Dear Emma does not waste her energies upon novels like other young women." The narrator's identity has been

16686-411: The ground and bound along in a serpentine motion until their force was spent. According to one British observer, a young English officer named Bayly: "So pestered were we with the rocket boys that there was no moving without danger from the destructive missiles ...". He continued: The rockets and musketry from 20,000 of the enemy were incessant. No hail could be thicker. Every illumination of blue lights

16848-403: The highly anticipated City on Fire by Garth Risk Hallberg captured the attention of ten publishers who started a bidding war that ended with Knopf buying the rights to the book for 2 million dollars. The book's film production rights were purchased soon after by producer Scott Rudin . For similar reasons that advances are frequently not very large—novels frequently do not sell well until

17010-424: The historical romance of Walter Scott . In fact, Clarke's novel maps the literary history of the early nineteenth century: the novel begins with the style and genres of Regency England , an "Austenian world of light, bright, sparkling dialogue and well-mannered gentility", and gradually transforms into a dark, Byronic tale. Clarke combines these Romantic genres with modern ones, such as the fantasy novel, drawing on

17172-465: The illustrations reinforce this tenor: "Shadows fill the illustrations by Portia Rosenberg, as apt as Edward Gorey 's for Dickens' Bleak House ." Author John Clute disagrees, arguing that they are "astonishingly inappropriate" to the tone of the novel. Noting that Clarke refers to important nineteenth-century illustrators George Cruikshank and Thomas Rowlandson , whose works are "line-dominated, intricate, scabrous, cartoon-like, savage and funny", he

17334-444: The importance of John Uskglass (the legendary Raven King) to English magic. Strange argues that "without the Raven King there would be no magic and no magicians" while Norrell retorts that the Raven King abandoned England and should be forgotten. Despite their differing opinions and temperaments, Norrell acknowledges Strange's magical ability and takes him on as a pupil, but deliberately keeps some knowledge from him. The Stranges become

17496-473: The internet. She was never sure, however, if she would finish her novel or if it would be published. Clarke tried to write for three hours each day, beginning at 5:30 am, but struggled to keep this schedule. Rather than writing the novel from beginning to end, she wrote in fragments and attempted to stitch them together. Clarke, admitting that the project was for herself and not the reader, "clung to this method" because "I felt that if I went back and started at

17658-544: The island of Saint Helena and stayed in the same building in which Napoleon I would live during his later exile. In September 1805, Major-General Wellesley was newly returned from his campaigns in India and was not yet particularly well known to the public. He reported to the office of the Secretary of State for War and the Colonies to request a new assignment. In the waiting room, he met Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson , already

17820-400: The lack of discipline among his men, who drank and pillaged the fortress and city. To restore order, several soldiers were flogged and four hanged . After battle and the resulting end of the war, the main force under General Harris left Seringapatam and Wellesley, aged 30, stayed behind to command the area as the new Governor of Seringapatam and Mysore. While in India, Wellesley was ill for

17982-507: The madness of King George III . Clarke has said that she hopes the magic is as realistic as that in Le Guin's Earthsea trilogy. This realism has led other reviewers, such as Polly Shulman, to argue that Clarke's book is more of an historical fiction, akin to the works of Patrick O'Brian . As she explains, "Both Clarke's and O'Brian's stories are about a complicated relationship between two men bound together by their profession; both are set during

18144-432: The main battle, rocketeers maneuvered to the rear of the British encampment, then 'threw a great number of rockets at the same instant' to signal the beginning of an assault by 6,000 Indian infantry and a corps of Frenchmen, all ordered by Mir Golam Hussain and Mohomed Hulleen Mir Miran. The rockets had a range of about 1,000 yards. Some burst in the air like shells . Others, called ground rockets, would rise again on striking

18306-464: The majority (around 30,000) were irregular light cavalry and unlikely to pose a serious threat to British infantry and artillery. Throughout June–August 1800, Wellesley advanced through Waugh's territory, his troops escalading forts in turn and capturing each one with "trifling loss". The forts generally offered little resistance due to their poor construction and design. Wellesley did not have sufficient troops to garrison each fort and had to clear

18468-542: The manuscript for publication. It was accepted by Bloomsbury and published in September 2004, with illustrations by Portia Rosenberg. Bloomsbury were so sure of its success that they printed 250,000 hardcover copies. The novel was well received by critics and reached number three on the New York Times Best Seller list . It was longlisted for the 2004 Man Booker Prize and won the 2005 Hugo Award for Best Novel . He hardly ever spoke of magic, and when he did it

18630-463: The meantime. Neither wishes to take Arabella to Faerie again, so he instead promises to return to her when he has dispelled the Darkness and tells her not to be a widow till then, to which she agrees. Clarke first developed the idea for Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell during a year spent teaching English in Bilbao, Spain : "I had a kind of waking dream ... about a man in 18th-century clothes in

18792-552: The members owed their election to the landowners of fewer than a hundred boroughs. Wellesley continued to serve at Dublin Castle , voting with the government in the Irish parliament over the next two years. He became a captain on 30 January 1791, and was transferred to the 58th Regiment of Foot . On 31 October, he transferred to the 18th Light Dragoons and it was during this period that he grew increasingly attracted to Kitty Pakenham ,

18954-805: The more prestigious awards around the world include the American Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award , the French Prix Goncourt du Premier Roman , the British Guardian First Book Award , the German Aspekte-Literaturpreis and the Japanese Noma Literary Prize . The New York Times commentator Leslie Jamison described the big, and often very public, "to do" about debut novels and novelists created by these book awards, as associated with

19116-404: The narrator notes: "It has been remarked (by a lady infinitely cleverer than the present author) how kindly disposed the world in general feels to young people who either die or marry. Imagine then the interest that surrounded Miss Wintertowne! No young lady ever had such advantages before: for she died upon the Tuesday, was raised to life in the early hours of Wednesday morning, and was married upon

19278-676: The nature of "Englishness" and the boundaries between reason and unreason, Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Dane , and Northern and Southern English cultural tropes /stereotypes. It has been described as a fantasy novel, an alternative history, and a historical novel . It inverts the Industrial Revolution conception of the North–South divide in England : in this book the North is romantic and magical, rather than rational and concrete. The narrative draws on various Romantic literary traditions, such as

19440-642: The new Governor-General of India . In 1798, he changed the spelling of his surname to "Wellesley"; up to this time he was still known as Wesley, which his eldest brother considered the ancient and proper spelling. As part of the campaign to extend the rule of the British East India Company , the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War broke out in 1798 against the Sultan of Mysore , Tipu Sultan . Arthur's brother Richard ordered that an armed force be sent to capture Seringapatam and defeat Tipu. During

19602-422: The novel, Neil Gaiman said that it was "unquestionably the finest English novel of the fantastic written in the last 70 years", a statement which has been read hyperbolically by Clute. However, Clute explains what Gaiman meant was that Jonathan Strange is "the finest English novel of the fantastic since Hope Mirrlees 's great Lud-in-the-Mist (1926), which is almost certainly the finest English fantasy about

19764-450: The novel. Clarke did not expect her publisher to accept the footnotes. Feeley explains that Romantic poet John Keats 's "vision of enchantment and devastation following upon any dealings with faeries " informs the novel, as the passing reference to the "cold hillside" makes clear. The magic in Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell has been described as "wintry and sinister" and "a melancholy, macabre thing". There are "flocks of black birds,

19926-466: The numerically larger force of the Maratha Empire . With the logistic assembly of his army complete (24,000 men in total) he gave the order to break camp and attack the nearest Maratha fort on 8 August 1803. The fort surrendered on 12 August after an infantry attack had exploited an artillery-made breach in the wall. With the fort now in British control Wellesley was able to extend control southwards to

20088-440: The option of skipping them without missing text from the main narrative. When doing public readings, Clarke herself skips the notes. In 2004, Clarke mentioned that she was working on a book that begins a few years after Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell ends, intended to centre on characters such as Childermass and Vinculus who, as Clarke says, are "a bit lower down the social scale". She commented in 2005 and 2007 that progress on

20250-415: The poor organisation at headquarters. He remarked later of his time in the Netherlands that "At least I learned what not to do, and that is always a valuable lesson". Returning to England in March 1795, he was reinstated as a member of parliament for Trim. He hoped to be given the position of secretary of war in the new Irish government but the new lord-lieutenant, Lord Camden , was only able to offer him

20412-519: The post of Surveyor-General of the Ordnance . Declining the post, he returned to his regiment, now at Southampton preparing to set sail for the West Indies . After seven weeks at sea, a storm forced the fleet back to Poole . The 33rd was given time to recuperate and a few months later, Whitehall decided to send the regiment to India. Wellesley was promoted full colonel by seniority on 3 May 1796 and

20574-451: The relationship between England and the fantastic yet published". Gaiman himself concurred with this view, stating that he had had Lud-in-the-Mist in mind when making his promotion and that, when asked about Tolkien 's place in English fantasy, "I would explain that I did not, and do not, think of The Lord of the Rings as English fantasy but as high fantasy ". Clute writes that "a more cautious claim" would be: "if Susanna Clarke finishes

20736-482: The river Godavari . Splitting his army into two forces to pursue and locate the main Marathas army (the second force, commanded by Colonel Stevenson was far smaller), Wellesley was preparing to rejoin his forces on 24 September. His intelligence, however, reported the location of the Marathas' main army, between two rivers near Assaye . If he waited for the arrival of his second force, the Marathas would be able to mount

20898-413: The same prophecy, prompting Strange to become a magician. Meanwhile, the Gentleman with the Thistledown Hair takes a liking to Stephen Black, Sir Walter's butler, and promises to make him a king. Emma (now Lady Pole) lapses into lassitude ; she rarely speaks and is distraught by bells, music, and parties. Each night she and Stephen are forced to attend balls held by the Gentleman with the Thistledown Hair in

21060-668: The second Dangan Castle , 3 miles (5 km) north of Summerhill in County Meath . In 1781, Arthur's father died and his eldest brother Richard inherited his father's earldom. He went to the diocesan school in Trim when at Dangan, Mr Whyte's Academy when in Dublin, and Brown's School in Chelsea when in London. He then enrolled at Eton College , where he studied from 1781 to 1784. His loneliness there caused him to hate it, and makes it highly unlikely that he actually said "The Battle of Waterloo

21222-448: The son of Anne, Countess of Mornington , and Garret Wesley, 1st Earl of Mornington . His father was himself the son of Richard Wesley, 1st Baron Mornington , and had a short career in politics representing the constituency of Trim in the Irish House of Commons before succeeding his father as Baron Mornington in 1758. Garret Mornington was also an accomplished composer , and in recognition of his musical and philanthropic achievements

21384-531: The story she has hardly begun in Strange  ... she may well have then written the finest English novel of the fantastic about the myth of England and the myth of the fantastic and the marriage of the two ever published, bar none of the above, including Mirrlees." On 15 October 2004, New Line Cinema announced that it had bought a three-year option on the film rights to Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell . Clarke received an undisclosed "seven-figure sum", making

21546-409: The story. He argued that, at times, Clarke's Austenesque tone gets in the way of plot development. On the other hand, The Baltimore Sun found the novel "a quick read". Complaining that the book leaves the reader "longing for just a bit more lyricism and poetry", The Washington Post reviewer noted, with others, that "sex plays virtually no role in the story ... [and] one looks in vain for

21708-419: The superficial and foppish Christopher Drawlight and the shrewd Henry Lascelles, and meets a Cabinet Minister, Sir Walter Pole. To ingratiate himself, Mr Norrell attempts to resurrect Sir Walter's fiancée, Emma Wintertowne, from the dead. He summons a fairy — "the Gentleman with the Thistledown Hair" — who strikes a bargain with Norrell to restore Emma: the price being half of her returned life will be spent with

21870-457: The surrounding area of insurgents before advancing to the next fort. On 31 July, he had "taken and destroyed Dhoondiah's baggage and six guns, and driven into the Malpoorba (where they were drowned) about five thousand people". Dhoondiah continued to retreat, but his forces were rapidly deserting, he had no infantry and due to the monsoon weather flooding river crossings he could no longer outpace

22032-481: The tax and justice systems in his province to maintain order and prevent bribery. In 1800, whilst serving as Governor of Mysore, Wellesley was tasked with putting down an insurgency led by Dhoondiah Waugh , formerly a Patan trooper for Tipu Sultan . Having escaped after the fall of Seringapatam he became a powerful brigand, raiding villages along the Maratha–Mysore border region. Despite initial setbacks,

22194-456: The term becoming more widely used after about 1980, gaining in popularity since. Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington , ( né   Wesley ; 1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish military officer and statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures in Britain during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, serving twice as Prime Minister of

22356-484: The theme of "Englishness" into Jonathan Strange : "I wanted to explore my ideas of the fantastic, as well as my ideas of England and my attachment to English landscape. ... Sometimes it feels to me as though we don't have a fable of England, of Britain, something strong and idealized and romantic. I was picking up on things like Chesterton and Conan Doyle , and the sense (which is also in Jane Austen) of what it

22518-499: The theory that he was born in Dublin is generally accepted but by no means proved". Other places that have been put forward as the location of his birth include a coach between Meath and Dublin, the Dublin packet boat and the Wellesley townhouse in Trim, County Meath. Wellesley spent most of his childhood at his family's two homes, the first a large house in Dublin, Mornington House , and

22680-456: The tope, was at once attacked in the darkness of night by a tremendous fire of musketry and rockets. The men, floundering about amidst the trees and the water-courses, at last broke, and fell back in disorder, some being killed and a few taken prisoners. In the confusion Colonel Wellesley was himself struck on the knee by a spent ball, and narrowly escaped falling into the hands of the enemy. A few weeks later, after extensive artillery bombardment,

22842-400: The two illustrate Harold Bloom 's notion of the " anxiety of influence " in addition to romantic friendship . The two are a "study in contrasts", with Norrell "exceptionally learned but shy and fussy" while Strange is "charming, young, fashionable and romantic". As one reviewer remarks, "Clarke could have called the book Sense and Sensibility if the title weren't already taken." The novel

23004-434: The war, rockets were used on several occasions. Wellesley was almost defeated by Tipu's Diwan, Purnaiah , at the Battle of Sultanpet Tope . Quoting Forrest, At this point (near the village of Sultanpet, Figure 5) there was a large tope, or grove, which gave shelter to Tipu's rocketmen and had obviously to be cleaned out before the siege could be pressed closer to Srirangapattana island. The commander chosen for this operation

23166-448: The weeks leading up to publication. By 2005, collectors were paying hundreds of pounds for signed copies of a limited edition of the novel. The book made its debut at No. 9 on the New York Times Best Seller list , rising to No. 3 two weeks later. It remained on the list for eleven weeks. Four weeks after the book's initial publication, it was in Amazon's top ten. Clarke went on

23328-429: The whole thing about slightly knowing footnotes commenting on the story." She explains in an interview that she was particularly influenced by the historical fiction of Rosemary Sutcliff as well as the fantasies of Ursula K. Le Guin and Alan Garner , and that she loves the works of Austen. In his review for The Boston Globe , John Freeman observes that Clarke's fantasy, like that of Franz Kafka and Neil Gaiman ,

23490-505: The works of J. R. R. Tolkien , Philip Pullman , T. H. White , and C. S. Lewis . As Maguire notes, Clarke includes rings of power and books of spells that originate in these authors' works. In contrast, Sacha Zimmerman suggests in The New Republic that while Tolkien's world is "entirely new", Clarke's world is more engaging because it is eerily close to the reader's. Although many reviewers compare Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell to

23652-559: The year, including locations in England, primarily in Yorkshire, as well as in Canada and Croatia. The 32-hour audio book of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell was released by Audio Renaissance in 2004. According to a review in The Boston Globe , reader Simon Prebble "navigates this production with much assuredness and an array of accents. ... Prebble's full voice is altered to

23814-429: Was Col. Wellesley, but advancing towards the tope after dark on the 5th April 1799, he was set upon with rockets and musket-fires, lost his way and, as Beatson politely puts it, had to "postpone the attack" until a more favourable opportunity should offer. The following day, Wellesley launched a fresh attack with a larger force, and took the whole position without any killed in action. On 22 April 1799, twelve days before

23976-411: Was accompanied by a shower of rockets, some of which entered the head of the column, passing through to the rear, causing death, wounds, and dreadful lacerations from the long bamboos of twenty or thirty feet, which are invariably attached to them. Under the command of General Harris , some 24,000 troops were dispatched to Madras (to join an equal force being sent from Bombay in the west). Arthur and

24138-586: Was also elected as a member of Parliament in the Irish House of Commons . Rising to the rank of colonel by 1796, Wellesley saw service in the Low Countries and India , where he fought in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War at the Siege of Seringapatam . He was appointed governor of Seringapatam and Mysore in 1799 and, as a newly appointed major-general , won a decisive victory over the Maratha Confederacy at

24300-399: Was also transferred to the new 76th Regiment forming in Ireland and on Christmas Day, 1787, was promoted lieutenant . During his time in Dublin his duties were mainly social; attending balls, entertaining guests and providing advice to Buckingham. While in Ireland, he overextended himself in borrowing due to his occasional gambling, but in his defence stated that "I have often known what it

24462-416: Was and, on his return, switched to a very different tone, discussing the war, the state of the colonies, and the geopolitical situation as between equals. On this second discussion, Wellington recalled, "I don't know that I ever had a conversation that interested me more". This was the only time that the two men met; Nelson was killed at his victory at Trafalgar seven weeks later. Wellesley then served in

24624-497: Was directed to scour this grove and dislodge the enemy, but on his advancing with this object on the night of the 5th, he found the tope unoccupied. The next day, however, the Mysore troops again took possession of the ground, and as it was absolutely necessary to expel them, two columns were detached at sunset for the purpose. The first of these, under Colonel Shawe, got possession of a ruined village, which it successfully held. The second column, under Colonel Wellesley, on advancing into

24786-582: Was elevated to the rank of Earl of Mornington in 1760. Wellesley's mother was the eldest daughter of Arthur Hill-Trevor, 1st Viscount Dungannon , after whom Wellesley was named. Through Elizabeth of Rhuddlan , Wellesley was a descendant of Edward I . Wellesley was the sixth of nine children born to the Earl and Countess of Mornington. His siblings included Richard, Viscount Wellesley , later 1st Marquess Wellesley , 2nd Earl of Mornington , and Baron Maryborough . The exact date and location of Wellesley's birth

24948-535: Was in the thick of the action the whole time ... I never saw a man so cool and collected as he was ... though I can assure you, till our troops got the order to advance the fate of the day seemed doubtful ..." With some 6,000 Marathas killed or wounded, the enemy was routed, though Wellesley's force was in no condition to pursue. British casualties were heavy: the British losses amounted to 428 killed, 1,138 wounded and 18 missing (the British casualty figures were taken from Wellesley's own despatch). Wellesley

25110-412: Was like a history lesson and no one could bear to listen to him. The novel opens in 1806 in northern England with The Learned Society of York Magicians, whose members are "theoretical magicians" who study magical texts and history, after the decline of magic in England several hundred years earlier. The group is stunned to learn of a "practical magician", Mr Gilbert Norrell. Norrell proves his skill as

25272-448: Was released. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell was first published in the United States on 8 September 2004, in the United Kingdom on 30 September, and in other countries on 4 October. Clarke's style has frequently been described as a pastiche , particularly of nineteenth-century British writers such as Charles Dickens , Jane Austen , and George Meredith . Specifically, the novel's minor characters, including sycophants , rakes , and

25434-683: Was so impressed with the story that, without Clarke's knowledge, he sent an excerpt to his friend, the fantasy writer Neil Gaiman . Gaiman later said, "It was terrifying from my point of view to read this first short story that had so much assurance ... It was like watching someone sit down to play the piano for the first time and she plays a sonata." Gaiman showed the story to his friend, science-fiction writer and editor Patrick Nielsen Hayden . Clarke learned of these events when Nielsen Hayden called and offered to publish her story in his anthology Starlight 1 , which featured pieces by well-regarded science-fiction and fantasy writers. She accepted, and

25596-447: Was to be an English gentleman at the time when England was a very confident place". In particular, "it's the sort of Englishness which is stuffy but fundamentally benevolent, and fundamentally very responsible about the rest of the world", which connects Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes to Clarke's Jonathan Strange. Using techniques of the genre of alternative history, Clarke creates events and characters that would have been out of place in

25758-400: Was to be in want of money, but I have never got helplessly into debt". On 23 January 1788, he transferred into the 41st Regiment of Foot , then again on 25 June 1789 he transferred to the 12th (Prince of Wales's) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons and, according to military historian Richard Holmes , he also reluctantly entered politics. Shortly before the general election of 1789, he went to

25920-501: Was troubled by the loss of men and remarked that he hoped "I should not like to see again such loss as I sustained on 23 September, even if attended by such gain". Years later, however, he remarked that Assaye and not Waterloo was the best battle he ever fought. Despite the damage done to the Maratha army, the battle did not end the war. A few months later in November, Wellesley attacked a larger force near Argaum , leading his army to victory again, with an astonishing 5,000 enemy dead at

26082-426: Was unlikely, but not impossible, that the family had travelled to Dublin for his baptism. A pillar was erected in his honour near Dangan in 1817. The place of his birth has been much disputed following his death, with Sir J.B. Burke writing the following in 1873: "Isn't it remarkable that until recently all the old memoirs of the Duke of Wellington seemed to infer that County Meath was the place of birth. Nowadays

26244-531: Was won on the playing fields of Eton", a quotation which is often attributed to him. Moreover, Eton had no playing fields at the time. In 1785, a lack of success at Eton, combined with a shortage of family funds due to his father's death, forced the young Wellesley and his mother to move to Brussels . Until his early twenties, Arthur showed little sign of distinction and his mother grew increasingly concerned at his idleness, stating, "I don't know what I shall do with my awkward son Arthur." In 1786, Arthur enrolled in

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