Magic, madam, is like wine and, if you are not used to it, it will make you drunk Faerie is never as far away as you think. Sometimes you find you have crossed an invisible line and must cope, as best you can, with petulant princesses, vengeful owls, ladies who pass their time embroidering terrible fates, or with endless paths in deep dark woods and houses that never appear the same way twice. The heroines and heroes bedevilled by such problems in these fairytales include a conceited Regency clergyman, an eighteenth-century Jewish doctor and Mary Queen of Scots, as well as two characters from Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell: Strange himself and the Raven King.
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'It's an astonishing achievement. I can't think of anything that is remotely like it.' Jonathan Palliser 'Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is unquestionably the finest English novel of the fantastic written in the last seventy years. It's funny, moving, scary, otherworldly, practical and magical.' Neil Gaiman 'Clarke's tale of magicians and fairies is a prodigious achievement This is, in both the precise and the colloquial sense, a fabulous book a highly original and compelling work.' Sunday Times 'Brimming with cod-academic references and myths, pert drawing-room comedy and genuinely chilling fantasy, this will appeal to devotees of Sarah Waters as much as to Harry Potter fans.' Marie-Claire
About the Author
Susanna Clarke is the author of the international bestseller Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. It was published in over thirty countries, shortlisted for the Whitbread First Novel Award and the Guardian First Book Award and the Authors' Club Best First Novel Award. It also won the Hugo Award and the World Fantasy Award in 2005. Susanna Clarke lives in Cambridge. Charles Vess's graphic narrative work has appeared in, among other publications, Spider-man, The Sandman, The Books of Magic and his own self-published The Book of Ballads and Sagas and has earned him two Will Eisner Comic Industry awards. In 1999 he received the World Fantasy Award for Best Artist for his illustrations for Stardust (a collaboration with Neil Gaiman). He lives in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia. For more information about the art of Charles Vess please visit his website at www.greenmanpress.com.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
By A. Smith
Format:Paperback
Gorgeous. Beautifully written, delectably malign English fairytales. It's as if Jane Austen met Harry Potter on a lonely path in a dark wood and beat him with a stick until he lost his mind.
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful
By L. Doughton
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Hardcover
A collection of wonderful short stories upon the themes of English magic and the inhabitants of Faerie by Susanna Clarke, author of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrel. Once again Clarke's attention to detail, us of annotation and academic conventions bestows an extra layer of realism to these tales, so they read almost as histories, or at least well established folklores with hundreds of years of tradition and storytelling behind them. These are true fairy-tales, in the tradition of the brothers grimm. One or two of the tales may be confusing if the reader is not entirely familiar with the story of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrel (although the ingenous use of footnotes fills in the gaps for the uninitiated), however for those who found Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrel too long and difficult to get into, this may be the perfect way to get into the work of a truely original writer. And for those who did enjoy it, well, this is just a treat. Highly recommended, Susanna Clarke is definately a writer I will be watching closely from now onwards.
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Susanna Clarke made a dazzling debut with "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell," which was the sort of fantasy story that Jane Austen would have written. Still fresh from her first bestseller, she presents a new array of captivating stories in "The Ladies of Grace Adieu." But expect it to be more whimsical.
The title story takes place in the magical Regency period of her debut: dull Mr. Field remarries after his wife died, and his pretty second wife, his niece, and a friend soon become good friends. When Mr. Strange passes by on a family errand, he discovers that there is more -- these ladies are all magicians, and have quietly escaped the boundaries placed by society.
From there on, Clarke trips through a series of strange, fantastical stories: when a young newlywed finds that her rich hubby expects her to spin flax, she asks for help from a nasty little fairy, who will kidnap her if she doesn't guess his name. Think a Regency "Rumplestiltskin."
Then a young lady tries to regain her boyfriend from the mysterious "Mrs. Mabb"; a Duke changes his destiny with a pair of scissors and a needle; a Jewish doctor and a fairy nobleman travel through England; the Queen of Scots becomes fascinated by an embroidered figure; and a young pastor finds himself enmeshed with a cruel fairy lord. One of the stories is even set in the world of Neil Gaiman's "Stardust."
"The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories" is more fantasy and less history than the full-length novel, although it leans more heavily on history. But then, most of these short stories may not be in the same universe, and they range from whimsical little fluff pieces to almost-horror.... Read more ›
The title story takes place in the magical Regency period of her debut: dull Mr. Field remarries after his wife died, and his pretty second wife, his niece, and a friend soon become good friends. When Mr. Strange passes by on a family errand, he discovers that there is more -- these ladies are all magicians, and have quietly escaped the boundaries placed by society.
From there on, Clarke trips through a series of strange, fantastical stories: when a young newlywed finds that her rich hubby expects her to spin flax, she asks for help from a nasty little fairy, who will kidnap her if she doesn't guess his name. Think a Regency "Rumplestiltskin."
Then a young lady tries to regain her boyfriend from the mysterious "Mrs. Mabb"; a Duke changes his destiny with a pair of scissors and a needle; a Jewish doctor and a fairy nobleman travel through England; the Queen of Scots becomes fascinated by an embroidered figure; and a young pastor finds himself enmeshed with a cruel fairy lord. One of the stories is even set in the world of Neil Gaiman's "Stardust."
"The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories" is more fantasy and less history than the full-length novel, although it leans more heavily on history. But then, most of these short stories may not be in the same universe, and they range from whimsical little fluff pieces to almost-horror.... Read more ›
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Susanna Clarke made a dazzling debut with "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell," which was the sort of fantasy story that Jane Austen would have written. Still fresh from her first bestseller, she presents a new array of captivating stories in "The Ladies of Grace Adieu." But expect it to be more whimsical.
The title story takes place in the magical Regency period of her debut: dull Mr. Field remarries after his wife died, and his pretty second wife, his niece, and a friend soon become good friends. When Mr. Strange passes by on a family errand, he discovers that there is more -- these ladies are all magicians, and have quietly escaped the boundaries placed by society.
From there on, Clarke trips through a series of strange, fantastical stories: when a young newlywed finds that her rich hubby expects her to spin flax, she asks for help from a nasty little fairy, who will kidnap her if she doesn't guess his name. Think a Regency "Rumplestiltskin."
Then a young lady tries to regain her boyfriend from the mysterious "Mrs. Mabb"; a Duke changes his destiny with a pair of scissors and a needle; a Jewish doctor and a fairy nobleman travel through England; the Queen of Scots becomes fascinated by an embroidered figure; and a young pastor finds himself enmeshed with a cruel fairy lord. One of the stories is even set in the world of Neil Gaiman's "Stardust."
"The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories" is more fantasy and less history than the full-length novel, although it leans more heavily on history. But then, most of these short stories may not be in the same universe, and they range from whimsical little fluff pieces to almost-horror.... Read more ›
The title story takes place in the magical Regency period of her debut: dull Mr. Field remarries after his wife died, and his pretty second wife, his niece, and a friend soon become good friends. When Mr. Strange passes by on a family errand, he discovers that there is more -- these ladies are all magicians, and have quietly escaped the boundaries placed by society.
From there on, Clarke trips through a series of strange, fantastical stories: when a young newlywed finds that her rich hubby expects her to spin flax, she asks for help from a nasty little fairy, who will kidnap her if she doesn't guess his name. Think a Regency "Rumplestiltskin."
Then a young lady tries to regain her boyfriend from the mysterious "Mrs. Mabb"; a Duke changes his destiny with a pair of scissors and a needle; a Jewish doctor and a fairy nobleman travel through England; the Queen of Scots becomes fascinated by an embroidered figure; and a young pastor finds himself enmeshed with a cruel fairy lord. One of the stories is even set in the world of Neil Gaiman's "Stardust."
"The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories" is more fantasy and less history than the full-length novel, although it leans more heavily on history. But then, most of these short stories may not be in the same universe, and they range from whimsical little fluff pieces to almost-horror.... Read more ›
23 of 26 people found the following review helpful
By A. Ross
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover
The eight short stories in this collection are set in the same England as Clarke's popular novel Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (which I have not read), an England in which magic is at least nominally present and faeries are human-like creatures with very considerable powers. All but one of the stories, which range in length from a few pages to 45 pages, have been previously published over the last ten years in various anthologies such as Starlight 1, 2, and 3, and Black Swan, White Raven and Black Heart, Ivory Bones.
Although the leadoff story, which gives the book it's title, concerns Dr. Strange and a trio of witches, the bulk of the stories (and certainly the more memorable ones), revolve around the capricious doings of various powerful fairies. A somewhat less powerful fairy is at the heart of he second story, "On Likerish Hill", which riffs on the Rumplestilsken story. The third story, "Mrs. Mabb", is an excellent old-fashioned tale about a poor young woman whose fiancee has been ensorcelled by a fairy queen. "The Duke of Wellington Misplaces His Horse," is a comic interlude featuring the famous hero of the Peninsular and Napoleonic Wars, and how he survives an accidental visit the the Fairy Kingdom.
Another longer, and somewhat more engaging story is "Mr. Simonelli or the Fairy Widower", in which a Cambridge scholar turned local rector matches wits with the local fairy lord. Another long and fairly decent story is "Tom Brightwind or How the Fairy Bridge...," in which a Jewish doctor and fairy lord making their way cross-country stumble upon a village severely in need of a bridge. What happens is somewhat obvious, but it's a story well told. The seventh story, "Antickes and Frets" is a somewhat perfunctory one about Mary Queen of Scots and some magical embroidery.... Read more ›
Although the leadoff story, which gives the book it's title, concerns Dr. Strange and a trio of witches, the bulk of the stories (and certainly the more memorable ones), revolve around the capricious doings of various powerful fairies. A somewhat less powerful fairy is at the heart of he second story, "On Likerish Hill", which riffs on the Rumplestilsken story. The third story, "Mrs. Mabb", is an excellent old-fashioned tale about a poor young woman whose fiancee has been ensorcelled by a fairy queen. "The Duke of Wellington Misplaces His Horse," is a comic interlude featuring the famous hero of the Peninsular and Napoleonic Wars, and how he survives an accidental visit the the Fairy Kingdom.
Another longer, and somewhat more engaging story is "Mr. Simonelli or the Fairy Widower", in which a Cambridge scholar turned local rector matches wits with the local fairy lord. Another long and fairly decent story is "Tom Brightwind or How the Fairy Bridge...," in which a Jewish doctor and fairy lord making their way cross-country stumble upon a village severely in need of a bridge. What happens is somewhat obvious, but it's a story well told. The seventh story, "Antickes and Frets" is a somewhat perfunctory one about Mary Queen of Scots and some magical embroidery.... Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A very rare delight.
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is definitely in my top twenty books list so when I came across this slim volume of eight previously published stories based on the same characters... Read more
Published 21 days ago by E.A. COLE
5.0 out of 5 stars
A wonderful book
Susannah Clarke must be one of the best writers in the world. Her imagination, giving us the world of 'Faerie' is fantastic. Read more
Published 1 month ago by JF
5.0 out of 5 stars
Delightful escapism
Yet more magical story telling from this wonderful author. A collection of sublime tales that whisk you away from our mundane world to a place both recognizable yet mysterious. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Lex Elbow
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fairytales meet Jane Austen
This is a collection of short stories from the author of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. I am a bit of a fairytale junkie and as the stories in this book are based on traditional... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Zoe Brooks
5.0 out of 5 stars
Eight Trips Back to Faerie
In this first collection of short stories, Susanna Clarke returns to the world she created in her first novel, the excellent "Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell", with more stories... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Noel
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great stories, weak format
I read this book straight after Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, which I hugely enjoyed, as a way of stringing out the experience. Read more
Published 12 months ago by AnOnAnOnAnOn
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good companion piece to Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
Susanna Clarke's much-acclaimed 2004 novel Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell explored a world in which real English history and fairy folklore are deeply entwined, where magicians... Read more
Published 16 months ago by A. Whitehead
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant
Witty, fascinating and beautifully written, a most satisfying read for those who long for more of the same after reading her wonderful "Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell". Read more
Published 17 months ago by Stargazer
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant book
This is a fantastic book. It's original, beautifully written and great fun.
You never know where the plot will lead to, and it's a treat.
You never know where the plot will lead to, and it's a treat.
Published on 30 May 2011 by K. Brent
2.0 out of 5 stars
A disappointment
Ms Clarke's "Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell" is such a wonderful story and beautifully told. Apart from the title story (which earned it the second star), this was a huge... Read more
Published on 1 April 2011 by Andrew AC Asteriades
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