The footnotes, of course, are part of the tricky nature of this book. At times they refer to real people and historic events, at other times they are all about the invented people that populate the novel and the invented historic occurrences. No youngsters, no matter how well read, would have the patience to deal with such footnotes, nor would the historic events be familiar to them. Besides, there is the early 19^th century language that the book's author, Susanna Clarke, employs in her novel. It would not appeal to youngsters. Harry Potter is of today, Norrell and Strange are men who have known the 18^thy century and are now living in the early 19^th.

Having said this, I have to admit that I had a jolly good time reading Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, although I found it less gripping than the Harry Potter books, and at times irritatingly meandering because Clarke didn't know when to stop. The characters also appeared rather two-dimensional. The Harry Potter books I could hardly put down because every word counts and J.K Rowling never wanders off the subject. Her characters are three-dimensional and so are wholly believable despite the fabulistic nature of the books. Clarke's book, addressed to adults, also is about characters dealing in magic. The story is, however, set in the time of George III during the Napoleonic wars, and despite my love of history just failed to hold my attention in the same manner as the Potter books. At times it became clear that Clarke was too much in love with the period and the language to know when to cut away from a character or a descriptive passage. It may seem unfair to compare an adult novel to a series of children's books, but Clarke's tale and the timing of the release of her book — it was first published in Britain in 2004 — invites such comparisons.

I have to admit that Clarke was daring in her choice of creating a parallel universe for 19^th century England, in which we are entertainingly told that magicians had as creditable a reputation as generals and ministers of state. While it has been done many times before, as English fantasy literature is rich and thriving, Clarke has given the genre a huge boost and approached it somewhat differently. Her historic research for this novel is significant and impressive.

When the tale of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell begins, magic had died out in England and it was left to various gentlemanly societies to keep the memory, the history of magic and fairies alive. Most of these magic societies were in Yorkshire, because magic, according to this tale, had in the past been more of a Northern England phenomenon rather than that of Southern England. The most active of these societies existed in the city of York, where gentlemen studied magic but lacked the knowledge of how to practice it. But, there lived a recluse in Yorkshire, surrounded by a huge library of books on magic, who claimed to be a real magician in the manner of the great magicians of the past. He did not like these societies and wanted them dismantled. When this venerable York society challenged him to prove his claim, he did so with quite awe-inspiring effect. First, however, the society had to promise that its members would desist from continuing their activities in the realm of magic if he proved his abilities.

The reclusive magician in Clarke's long novel is Mr. Norrell. He jealously guards his library, and his position. He makes it clear that he will not tolerate the use of black magic and he wants nothing to do with bringing back the ancient fairies that used to be of service to many an English household in bygone days. He sees danger in this. To further his aims, he moves to London with his factotum, Childermass. Soon he offers his services to the government and ends up creating magic that confuses the French fleet, and so saves Britain from an invasion. But he also uses his magic to return to life the young wife of an important politician. To do so he secretly had to do exactly what he did not want anyone else to do. Having done so, he does, indeed, unleash havoc, although he is not aware of it for quite a while.

Then a young man appears, who challenges Norrell. He is Strange, a gifted magician, who has none of the books that Norrell guards in his library. He is a natural, who has no scruples about using any means he can to create magic. Norrell decides to accept the Byronic figure as an apprentice, but gives him very little access to his books. So, Strange makes up magic on the fly, so to speak, and ends up with Wellington's troops in Spain to help the British win battles. By the way, Clarke finds a way to bring Byron into the tale, though only peripherally.

There is so much more that is best not given away here, because it would spoil the fun of discovery, and the book is fun despite this curmudgeon's complaints. And complaints I have many about the book. It is far too long for what it achieves, it contains characters that have no real relationship to the tale and should have been omitted, and I found it rather tasteless to attribute King George's serious illness, porphoria, to magic just because at the time physicians did not understand what it was that finally drove him into madness. What isn't generally known is that this disease is hereditary and that King Frederick William of Prussia, the father of Frederick the Great, also suffered from the same illness. Yes, it makes a good foil for bringing the dark side of magic into her story, but it seems misplaced. Where, one wonders, were the discerning editors at Bloomsbury who should have warned Clarke that she had wandered off in all directions in her quest for 19^th century authenticity?

Another complaint is about the illustrations. They are by Portia Rosenberg. Her artwork is too tight, yet also mushy; it lacks life, and it lacks a feeling for the period that she is supposed to illustrate. With Clarke ensuring so earnestly that her language is pure Jane Austen, she should have insisted that the artwork also follows in the style of the period.

Lastly, it seems worthwhile noting that the ending of the book is inconclusive and leads one to believe that Clarke is not yet finished with Norrell and Strange. One hopes that any future book or books will be more tightly edited and will stop wandering off the subject.