![]() Gilbert Norrell, Yorkshire scholar-supreme, astounds them all by performing feats of "practical" magic - an ungentlemanly pursuit that earns him instant renown. ![]() By 1806, English magicians have been reduced to ineffectual theoreticians and antiquarian book-collectors. ![]() If I ever decide to practise magic, I'll be sure to use Ravilious's spells rather than Omskirk's.Īll this faux-erudition underpins the book's central conceit: the revival of English magic during the Regency period, after several centuries of disuse. ("We" are assumed to be Victorians - a neat touch.) Clarke's punctilious scholarship - particularly in her copious footnotes - has such an authoritative air that we can scarcely resist believing she's filling gaps in our general knowledge. Susanna Clarke concocts a wickedly credible parallel history of Britain in which magicians were as active and prominent as anyone else we learned about at school. ![]()
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