#Jonathan strange and Mr Norrell

[tench]

[jsamn-20th-anniversary-readalong]

It has been an astonishing 20 YEARS since Susanna Clarke first published her debut novel Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell on 8th September 2004.

To celebrate, we have planned a Readalong for old fans, those who have had it on their TBR pile for a while and haven't managed to get round to it, and for those who maybe haven't even heard of it yet.

The Readalong will start off on 2nd September 2024, with discussions taking place on the official discord for the chapters being each week. We also have groups on StoryGraph and Goodreads for those who would like to keep track in those places, which will be linked to closer to September.

We have broken the book down into chunks of roughly 70 pages per week, in the hopes that this is a fairly gentle reading pace to fit into your lives, as the book is a bit of a beast.

Please follow this blog for more information as we keep you updated!

[occasional-owl]

[kazz-brekker]

the crazy thing about jonathan strange and mr norrell is that it's 900 pages long and when you get to the end you would happily read another 900 pages

[speakingskies]

[beetleandfox]

Casper David Fredrich is THE Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell vibes artist

[mr-craig]

An interesting easter egg from The Church on Ruby Road: The book on Cherry's bedside table is Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, a book about magic returning to England. After the salt thing from Wild Blue Yonder, the Toymaker's return in The Giggle, and now goblins in The Church on Ruby Road, it looks like a recurring theme in these new episodes is... the return of magic to the Universe. 🤔

[mervynbunter]

I reached out my hand; England’s rivers turned and flowed the other way.

[shadesofbrixton]

Streaming Content for Cult Fandom

So I went poking around trying to find a free streaming source for Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell and stumbled on this YouTube account of a guy named Owen Davies who is remastering some series that are difficult to find streaming these days. His mission is charming:

Somehow, my channel seems to have turned into a project to remaster and preserve pre-HD media (films, TV shows, miniseries, etc.). I hope you enjoy what's here. [...] I don't monetise my channel or any of its content. It wouldn't be right to do so, since most of it is original work by industry professionals that I've just attempted to clean up and polish with a modern HD/4K shine. YouTube is my hobby, not my source of income. If you run across any ads on my content, I assure you they've been put in place by the legal rights holders in order to gather revenue - which is what allows me to legally make most of this content public :^)

If you need a free, easy way to stream the following shows, he has them in lovely organized playlists ready to go:

Stephen King's Rose Red (2002)

The Nightmare Worlds of H.G. Wells (2016)

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (2015)

The 10th Kingdom (2000)

Dead Like Me (2003)

Farscape (1999)

Merlin (1998)

Jim Henson's The Storyteller (1988)

Roar (1997)

...and lots more! A lot of "cult" TV content that has been kicked to the curb by its original streaming providers, or is only available in specific countries. In an age when digital content is just disappearing because CEOs consider it too expensive to bother retaining, it's really cool to see someone doing restoration work that also makes things available to the public for free.

ETA: I know there's debate around losing the "grittiness" of old media and whether 4k restoration removes that magic. I get that debate! For me, this is more about preserving content that is disappearing/hard to access. Okay, enjoy the show!

[littleguy-pi]

Arabella I cannot bear to finish rendering and a Segundus I forgot to post 🤷‍♂️

[godwhyaretherenoblognames]

When will my husband (Mr. Jonathan Strange) return from the War (The Napoleonic ones to be exact) (he’s a magician) (he was drafted by the government) (please I’m being stalked by The Gentleman with the Thistledown Hair)

[aktf7wcbh]

I was at the Art Institute of Chicago and when I saw this painting the only thing in my head was Mr Segundus my beloved

(Young Clergyman Reading by Martin Rørbye)

[dathen]

Meet Cute (#3):

Ruin of All Your Hopes and Dreams to Lovers is my new favorite trope

[katabay]

jonathan strange and mr norrell is hands down one of my favorite shows, but a little while ago I realized. that I’ve never actually. read the book.

like I loved the show so much I am absolutely fucking baffled that I never once thought ‘oh let’s check it out from the library and have a good time part 2’

& something about the weather lately (extremely windy) brought it to mind, so I checked it out from the library and I’m having a great time reading it so far 🥳

⭐ places I’m at! bsky / pixiv / pillowfort /cohost / cara.app / tip jar!

[ofrabjousnight]

[mysterious old conman flips tarot card after tarot card each depicting The Emperor slowly transforming into the Raven King]

me: is that good

[x]

[thinkanamelater]

Alternate title for JS&MN. Trust me I am friends with Susanna Clarke

Edit: now with a sequel