Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell is a fantastic depiction of magic. I tried to read the book when it came out (would've been fourteen or fifteen) but it was extremely difficult and I forgot most of it.
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the byronic strange vs the dickensian norrell is such a gorgeous contrast and the way the various players move so gracefully around the stage is just so flawless, i adore this kind of thing
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the utter alienness of the fae-folk as well. their amorality and totally inhuman experience of time and space.
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the prominence of mirrors and reflections as magical apparatus is great! also love the sharp books/no books divide between our two leads.
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the oral shaman vs. literary occultist
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yes, and the comparison of strange to merlin was not lost on me. i've not seen a lot of john dee in it so far but the use of magic in statecraft is playing in a similar space i think.
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John Dee's absence in the book is a kind of remarkable omission since it's about English magic specifically. In their timeline it seems like the Raven King might have been the only game in town during the Elizabethan era?
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kind of hilarious that that is the most truly alt-history thing about it lmao
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