Description
Book Synopsis Regency England was a pivotal time of political uncertainty, with a changing monarchy, the Napoleonic Wars, and a population explosion in London. In Susanna Clarke''s fantasy novel Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, the era is also witness to the unexpected return of magic. Locating the consequences of this eruption of magical unreason within the context of England''s imperial history, this study examines Merlin and his legacy, the roles of magicians throughout history, the mythology of disenchantment, the racism at work in the character of Stephen Black, the meaning behind the fantasy of magic''s return, and the Englishness of English magic itself. Looking at the larger historical context of magic and its links to colonialism, the book offers both a fuller understanding of the ethical visions underlying Clarke''s groundbreaking novel of madness intertwined with magic, while challenging readers to rethink connections among national identity, rationality, and power.
Table of Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Preface
- Prologue: Merlin's Legacy
- A Mystic Robe of Midnight Blue
- The Mythological Magician
- Merlin's Imperial Legacy
- Chapter 1. The Fantasy of a Return
- The Modern Fantasy of Return
- The Englishness of English Magic
- Magic's Persistence
- Chapter 2. Writing, Text, Mythology
- All the Texts of the World
- The Man Who Was Also a Book
- Writing History, Writing Fiction
- Chapter 3. An Artificial Myth
- Dual Perspectives
- The English Malady
- Mythologies and Evasions
- Chapter 4. Through the Looking-Glass
- The Paper Mirror
- The Monarch and the Mirror
- The Nameless Slave
- Chapter 5. Imperialism's Magic Helper
- Anthropology and Unreason
- The Illusionist's Mission
- The Magic Helper
- Chapter 6. The Reason of Unreason
- Magic and Madness
- Reason's Double
- Reason and Unreason
- Epilogue: New Constellations
- The Starry Heavens
- >Endless Night
- Beyond Disenchantment
- The Sky Speaks
- References
- Index
