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I'd read glowing reviews of this book, but I hesitated for a long time due to the fact that it's fantasy, which is not my genre. Finally, I gave in and bought it - and am I glad I did! Clarke sets her novel in the early years of the 19th century, during the Napoleonic Wars, and even uses the spelling of that time. The story follows the title characters, two magicians (in Clarke's fantasy world, being a magician is a profession like any other) who are, at first, master and student, then rivals. The book is filled with fictional footnotes, and juggles multiple story threads with ease. The characters are human and flawed; the situations are fascinating; the names have a distinct ring of Dickens. As a matter of fact, if Dickens had written fantasy, it might well have been something like this.
Daphne du Maurier loved Cornwall, and often wrote of it, as she does here. This is the tale of 17th-century English noblewoman Dona St. Columb, who has tired of life in London (which du Maurier describes vividly; footpads in the night streets, evenings at the theatre where Dona is the only wife amidst a score of mistresses, dust and the stench of garbage in the streets).
Dona, on impulse, leaves London with her children and their nurse, headed for her husband's Cornwall estate. We discover that her husband, Harry, is as in love with her as he can be, but he is also a simpleton who is incapable of knowing what Dona really needs and wants from him; small wonder, then, that she insisted he remain in London. Dona revels in the freedom of the estate, playing with her children, and paying scant attention to local talk of a French pirate in the area. She soon finds, however, that the pirate is much closer to home than she thought.
Dona is one of the best female characters du Maurier - or anyone else - ever created. Intelligent, perceptive, sharply witty and independent, she chafes under the yoke of an unsuitable marriage, and finds herself and unexpected love in Cornwall. Her dialog alone is worth reading, but the book is a wonderful adventure tale, as well. Quite possibly, du Maurier was writing of her own wish to escape. Whatever the reason, the book is well worth reading again and again.
A highly detailed description of the events that occurred the night the Titanic went down in the North Atlantic, with stories of what happened to the survivors later. This truly is THE book for anyone interested in the sinking of the "unsinkable" grand ocean liner, just two years before the outbreak of World War I.
If you can imagine Dickens writing fantasy, that's what this book is like. Clarke has truly immersed herself in the early 19th century to create a perfect atmosphere for her novel, in which the practice of magic is a trade like any other. One of the title characters, Mr. Norrell, makes a name for himself, first in York, then in London, as a skilled magician who helps the government fight the French. Jonathan Strange, a younger man who chooses the profession of magic, and finds himself so adept at it that he becomes Mr. Norrell's pupil and, eventually, his rival. Ranging from England to Spain to Italy, taking in parts of a country called Faerie, and mentioning a land that lies on the far side of Hell, the book is consistently gripping. Parts of it had me gasping with delight at the plot twists. I was also pleased by the names of some of the characters, which are also reminiscent of Dickens' names: Greysteel, Childermass, Uskglass, Drawlight. I can even forgive Clarke for including real historical figures (such as King George III and the Duke of Wellington) in her narrative, something I do only rarely. This book is almost a thousand pages long, and the interest never wavers.
This is the best novel of Wodehouse's startlingly large output. The title character takes full advantage of a situation that would have most of us running for cover - posing as a poet in a castle in order to steal a valuable diamond necklace, which involves fighting a pair of professional burglars, dodging the suspicions of the castle secretary, and courting the young lady of his dreams. Wodehouse has created one of the funniest and most eccentric characters in English literature; Psmith might be called the comic version of Sherlock Holmes. This is Wodehouse in peak form!
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Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Constant Reader, September 1, 2011
And I don't even LIKE fantasy!I'd read glowing reviews of this book, but I hesitated for a long time due to the fact that it's fantasy, which is not my genre. Finally, I gave in and bought it - and am I glad I did! Clarke sets her novel in the early years of the 19th century, during the Napoleonic Wars, and even uses the spelling of that time. The story follows the title characters, two magicians (in Clarke's fantasy world, being a magician is a profession like any other) who are, at first, master and student, then rivals. The book is filled with fictional footnotes, and juggles multiple story threads with ease. The characters are human and flawed; the situations are fascinating; the names have a distinct ring of Dickens. As a matter of fact, if Dickens had written fantasy, it might well have been something like this.
Frenchman's Creek by Daphne Du Maurier
Constant Reader, February 18, 2011
Daphne du Maurier loved Cornwall, and often wrote of it, as she does here. This is the tale of 17th-century English noblewoman Dona St. Columb, who has tired of life in London (which du Maurier describes vividly; footpads in the night streets, evenings at the theatre where Dona is the only wife amidst a score of mistresses, dust and the stench of garbage in the streets).Dona, on impulse, leaves London with her children and their nurse, headed for her husband's Cornwall estate. We discover that her husband, Harry, is as in love with her as he can be, but he is also a simpleton who is incapable of knowing what Dona really needs and wants from him; small wonder, then, that she insisted he remain in London. Dona revels in the freedom of the estate, playing with her children, and paying scant attention to local talk of a French pirate in the area. She soon finds, however, that the pirate is much closer to home than she thought.
Dona is one of the best female characters du Maurier - or anyone else - ever created. Intelligent, perceptive, sharply witty and independent, she chafes under the yoke of an unsuitable marriage, and finds herself and unexpected love in Cornwall. Her dialog alone is worth reading, but the book is a wonderful adventure tale, as well. Quite possibly, du Maurier was writing of her own wish to escape. Whatever the reason, the book is well worth reading again and again.
A Night to Remember by Walter Lord
Constant Reader, November 5, 2010
A highly detailed description of the events that occurred the night the Titanic went down in the North Atlantic, with stories of what happened to the survivors later. This truly is THE book for anyone interested in the sinking of the "unsinkable" grand ocean liner, just two years before the outbreak of World War I.Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Constant Reader, August 25, 2010
If you can imagine Dickens writing fantasy, that's what this book is like. Clarke has truly immersed herself in the early 19th century to create a perfect atmosphere for her novel, in which the practice of magic is a trade like any other. One of the title characters, Mr. Norrell, makes a name for himself, first in York, then in London, as a skilled magician who helps the government fight the French. Jonathan Strange, a younger man who chooses the profession of magic, and finds himself so adept at it that he becomes Mr. Norrell's pupil and, eventually, his rival. Ranging from England to Spain to Italy, taking in parts of a country called Faerie, and mentioning a land that lies on the far side of Hell, the book is consistently gripping. Parts of it had me gasping with delight at the plot twists. I was also pleased by the names of some of the characters, which are also reminiscent of Dickens' names: Greysteel, Childermass, Uskglass, Drawlight. I can even forgive Clarke for including real historical figures (such as King George III and the Duke of Wellington) in her narrative, something I do only rarely. This book is almost a thousand pages long, and the interest never wavers.Leave It to Psmith by P G Wodehouse
Constant Reader, May 15, 2010
This is the best novel of Wodehouse's startlingly large output. The title character takes full advantage of a situation that would have most of us running for cover - posing as a poet in a castle in order to steal a valuable diamond necklace, which involves fighting a pair of professional burglars, dodging the suspicions of the castle secretary, and courting the young lady of his dreams. Wodehouse has created one of the funniest and most eccentric characters in English literature; Psmith might be called the comic version of Sherlock Holmes. This is Wodehouse in peak form!(5 of 9 readers found this comment helpful)