This seems good

I found a site on the JonathanStrange.com forum from someone who seems to take it upon him/herself to answer (kindly) the questions readers have. I thought I'd link to The Friends of English Magic website so all of you can check out this fansite.

Harry Potter for adults?

In the link that was posted for the Clarke interview she was asked how she felt about JS&MN being called an adult Harry Potter. I just thought that odd because earlier last week one of my friends picked it up, read the back and just laughed. When I asked what she was laughing at, she said "I never had you pegged to be the type to read an adult-Harry Potter". I've never read Harry Potter, but is this accurate at all? Clarke herself says no, but I was just wondering....

Removal of magic from England

I would like to furthur discuss the possibility that magic may have been removed from England those 300 years ago. The small magical acts that Strange and Norrell perform are nothing compared to the union between English magicians and the trees, rocks, and water that Strange brings back to England. People expect the trees, rocks, and water to behave in a predictable manner, and a world where that was not true would be terrifying. What if the faeries were given the trees, rocks, and water to command to leave England those 300 years ago? We have all seen the commotion they cause, and surely they would love the power enough to agree. If this is not the case, how was the magic lost? The Raven King may have had to leave and vowed to return again leaving a small group of people from northern England that were devoted to him.

I wish it were real!

Last class we discussed how JS& MN reads like a history of the world, and after that discussion, I realized that I really wished all that took place in the book were true. I am a sucker for historical fiction, I guess. I've been studying Spanish Civilization and while I was reading this novel I was also learning about the war against Napolean in Spain. So, all of the war bits were especially meaningful to me.

I read over the interview with Susanna Clarke that Andy linked us to, and she said she is working on a novel that takes place a few years later with the main characters being Childermass and Vinculus and a few of the other minor characters. I am very interested in finding out how her imaginary world compares to the history sans magic that we have studied. What will be the same? What will be different?

Raven King Website

I found this very interesting website through google.
I think it would be beneficial to search for background on the book. If you click on the Daily Raven, it will link you a pdf that is a magical magazine which is really cool to read. I have skimmed it, but I think it is rather funny.

Fanlistings

So, I was trying look up the significance of names as well. I googled "Childermass" and found that there are whole websites dedicated to him. Here is the site I found.
I think that I am going to try to find some more like these for other characters. They have compiled a list of quotes and their page numbers about the characters which will be useful considering searching through such a long book would take what feels like forever.
Thought you might find it helpful...

This kind of goes along with the meanings of names and additional significance to the characters that started with the Vinculus thread. I was looking around for additional info and found this site. It outlines some interesting topics about Clarke as well as answers some interesting questions. You can find the historical/real-life inspirations for several of the characters also.



Happy Reading!