Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell

This book was a wonderful mix of different conventions from literature and genre fiction: magic, atlernative history, invented lore, the gothic novel, the comedy of manners, the Romantic tale and hero (capital R), etc.  Set in the early 19th century during the Napoleonic Wars, the story involves the revival of magic in England after a long period of slumber in which spells no longer worked and the study of magic had devolved into a merely scholarly pursuit for idle gentlemen.  First one magician, Mr. Norrell, then another, his pupil Jonathan Strange, come on the scene, but their ideas of how to restore English magic diverge and the machinations of politicians, opportunistic sycophants, and malevolant antagonists drives a big damn wedge between the two, causing a public debacle over how magical knowledge should be shared (or not) and whether the mystical knowledge of old still has a place in this modern age.  Readers with interest or a taste for the books of Austen or Dickens will feel right at home with the characters and the prose, but that isn't a prerequesite to enjoying the book.  The magic itself is not as in-your-face or explosive as in, say, The Dresden Files, and the action such as it is isn't a focal point, so anyone looking for something viscerally exciting should look elsewhere.  This is a character driven story that relies on subtle, but no less effective, use of the magical and speculative elements as they are woven into a mix of real English history and a rich and deep invented one involving magical beings, magicians, and a wealth of magical scholarship.  It's a long book, so if you are on the fence about it I highly recommend the audiobook narrated by Simon Prebble (available on Audible.com) as his narration highlights all the nuance of the verbal fencing in the dialogue and makes the rest of the prose fun and interesting.

You can read my full review/thoughts on the book at this address: http://strangetelemetry.wordpress.com/2012/04/13/jonathanstrangemrnorrell/