In 2024, I read Susanna Clarke’s two novels: Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell and Piranesi. The novels were published sixteen years apart and in many ways could not be more different from each other. Set in Regency England, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell is nearly a whopping 800 pages long and has a multitude of characters. In contrast, Piranesi barely reaches 250 pages, has only a few characters, and is set in a mysterious, otherworldly place. Yet both novels contain a blend of magic and realism which mark them as unique to Clarke’s style. As a result, they are two of my favourite books I read last year.

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell has the mannerisms of a Jane Austen novel but with the addition of magic. The novel imagines an alternate England where two magicians called Strange and Norrell bring back magic to England after it was thought to have been lost for centuries. Both magicians quickly become famous, attracting the attention of nobility and royalty, but Norrell’s conservative perspective soon clashes with Strange’s libertarian views, making their relationship fraught. The stakes are then raised even higher when a mysterious gentleman with thistle-down hair starts performing magic of his own, threatening the foundations that Strange and Norrell have built. I was impressed by how Clarke was able to weave so many storylines together; as a result, the book is extremely immersive and feels like escaping into another world. I also loved the humour in the novel, especially when Norrell makes statues in York Minster come alive, terrifying a group of Regency gentlemen in the process. By focusing on English magic, Clarke comments on Englishness in general, showing how the supposedly polite society of Regency England is a front for greed and oppression, which is both heightened and challenged through the return of magic to the nation. Clarke makes the historical elements of her book shine through by integrating famous events and people from history into the lives of her fictional characters. For example, Jonathan Strange uses magic to help the Duke of Wellington in the Napoleonic war. The poet Lord Byron also makes an appearance in the book, though he is portrayed in a very unfavourable light. Clarke even includes the London beer flood in the novel – an event where over 100,000 gallons of beer escaped into the streets of London, and which seems more fictional than factual! Clarke’s blend of the historical and fantasy genres is unusual but effective, meaning that Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell is perfect for fantasy enthusiasts but also for historical fiction lovers.

The title of Piranesi is taken from the name of its main character, a young man who is full of joy and admiration for the place where he lives, though it is unfamiliar and confusing to the reader. While Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell has an alternate history, Piranesi has an alternate setting. Piranesi informs the reader that he lives in a ‘House’ made up of three levels. The bottom level is submerged in water and occasionally floods the upper levels, allowing Piranesi to collect seafood and survive. The House boasts a seemingly infinite number of ‘Halls,’ which contain statues of people and animals doing various tasks. For Piranesi, who is usually alone in the House, these statues are the only society he knows and form the basis of all his knowledge. Though Piranesi is almost always isolated, the strength of the novel lies in his narrative voice, where he expresses his happiness for the House, Halls, statues, and the little he has to survive on. The only person in the House apart from Piranesi is a man called ‘The Other.’ He believes the House contains a ‘Great and Secret Knowledge’ and enlists Piranesi to help him find it. The Other has access to things that Piranesi does not – such as fresh food and clean clothes – and Piranesi only sees him twice a week. As the novel progresses, sinister threats begin to emerge, forcing Piranesi to question everything he thought he knew about his life. What makes Piranesi so special is its ability to balance innocence and wonder with manipulation and oppression. Through these themes, Clarke shows that despite there being much evil in the world, there is also lots of good. As with Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, she uses elements of fantasy to comment on issues facing us in reality.

Although Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell and Piranesi differ greatly in length, setting, and narration, the two books are distinct to Susanna Clarke’s style. Both novels have an unusual blend of fantasy and realism, as well as having prominent themes of power dynamics and ethics. Most importantly, they are highly enjoyable stories and I would strongly recommend them to anyone who wants an immersive, thought-provoking read.

Featured image: Ivanka Tashkova via Unsplash.