#jsmn

[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!

[mervynbunter]

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

[specificpollsaboutbooks]

Fiction Works with Footnotes

Round 2

How to Train Your Dragon :

We all know the httyd movies. the books are VERY different, but equally as good. the story slowly transitions from episodic adventure type to a full blown war between 3 different factions and is told from the perspective of Hiccup as an adult . They have heavy themes of cycles and the past coming back to haunt you. and of course little footnotes of either when something happened in a past book, or side notes joking about bits of the text.

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell :

The best book I've ever read with no sequel. Read at your own risk, it is an immaculate novel that will probably never get a follow up. The worldbuilding is some of the finest I've read.

The book is filled with footnotes mimicking academic citations and references to innumerable fake books that really make it feel there is a much wider world out there and the book is only centering on this one period of time

So the book is an in universe academic account and the footntes are basically the watsonian author being salty about historical figures. like what more could you want in a footnote. In terms of the book as a whole, its villain was the inspiration for michael shelley of magnus archives fame so something mustve been done right

[juno-in-aqua]

Re-reading JSMN and I really wanted to try drawing some of my fav scenes. First up is the intro for Mr Segundus and Mr Honeyfoot, who I adore now on my re-read.

[occasional-owl]

[sheppardsjohn]

PERIOD DRAMA APPRECIATION WEEK | Favorite adaptation |Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (2015)

Two magicians shall appear in England... The first shall fear me; the second shall long to behold me; The first shall be governed by thieves and murderers; the second shall conspire at his own destruction; The first shall bury his heart in a dark wood beneath the snow, yet still feel its ache; The second shall see his dearest possession in his enemy's hand...

[thinkanamelater]

Would you fuck, marry or kill the Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell character you got? (I'd love to read who you got and what you picked!)

[queerolddad]

ok but my favorite Childermass scene is the one where Strange asks him to leave Norrell and come work with him instead.

First of all — why the fuck is Strange looking at him like that he’s just like me fr

But more importantly, I’m obsessed with the idea that Childermass does agree with Strange when it comes to magic being available to everyone and anyone.

He believes in the Raven King who was not high born and is he himself a man of magic who is of equally low birth. But he is so steadfastly loyal to Norrell, he refuses Strange: “Mr. Norrell and I are not done with each other yet.”

Childermass acts as the middle ground between Strange and Norrell — he is loyal to Norrell and what he has done for him and for magic, he agrees with Strange that magic is not to be held under lock and key. He is a servant to magic, not man.

[yeti-zeus]

is this anything? are there enough of us jsmn enjoyers out there for this to be anything?

[jsamn-20th-anniversary-readalong]

Week One: Chapters 1-5

Welcome to the start of the Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell 20th Anniversary Readalong!

You can join in with us in a few different ways:

Our Discord server, as linked to in our initial post

Our Goodreads group & challenge

Our The StoryGraph readalong

Here on tumblr! We follow the tag #jsamn 20 readalong, and you can @ us on your posts too!

[lightthewaybackhome]

...and Childermass.

Chills

[specificpollsaboutbooks]

Fiction Works with Footnotes

Round 1

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell :

The best book I've ever read with no sequel. Read at your own risk, it is an immaculate novel that will probably never get a follow up. The worldbuilding is some of the finest I've read.

The book is filled with footnotes mimicking academic citations and references to innumerable fake books that really make it feel there is a much wider world out there and the book is only centering on this one period of time

So the book is an in universe academic account and the footnotes are basically the watsonian author being salty about historical figures. like what more could you want in a footnote. In terms of the book as a whole, its villain was the inspiration for michael shelley of magnus archives fame so something must've been done right

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up the Marvel Universe :

A published graphic novel with footnotes at the bottom of each page like a webcomic. Very silly and fun. I <3 Squirrel Girl

[letmeinimafairy]

A commission about JSAMN, the prompt was vague - something about the whole atmosphere, about books and ways of English magic. So here's Mr Childermass and the King's Roads on dianite. I didn't realise how much I missed this book and series.

[occasional-owl]

The babygirl PNG'ed for all your editing needs

+ bonus edit:

[thinkanamelater]

this is fine :)

@occasional-owl suggested i draw Stephen surrounded by the Gentleman's ridiculous gifts, and Of Course i had to do it !

[yeti-zeus]

One of my fav things in JSMN is that the two titular characters are not only the least important characters in the grand scheme of things, especially magically, but also actively hinder the return of magic to England even when they dont mean to.